To A Beast's Heart
by Taric123
Summary: What happens when Shido realizes that Ban is his mate? Does he act on his new feelings or does he just ignore Ban even more? Will they ever stop fighting? There friends can only hope. Shido/Ban Main Pairing; Other Minor Side Pairings; Mates! verse Rated M for the last two chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Summary

What happens when Shido realizes that Ban is his mate? Does he act on his new feelings or does he just ignore Ban even more? Will they ever stop fighting? There friends can only hope. _Shido/Ban Main Pairing; Other Minor Side Pairings; Mates! verse_

Characters/Pairings Main Pairing

Shido/Ban

Side Pairings

Akabane/Ginji

Kazuki/Juubei

Single Side Characters

Natsumi

Paul

Hevn

Monica

Disclaimer

Firstlyˌ I do not own anything pertaining to the storyline of The Get Backersˌ nor do I own any recognizable characters from the show. I only own this story and any characters I have made up for it.

Secondlyˌ if you do not like male/male pairings or any of the pairings in specificˌ I respect that but please don't read this fanfic and say mean things about it. As it is fanfictionˌ it is my personal opinions and likes and I would ask that you respect that.

Thirdlyˌ If you like this sort of thingˌ please do read and review if you wish.

Enjoy! Or not. It's entirely up to you.

* * *

Chapter 1

It was a brightˌ sunny day in Shinguku. The kind of day to enjoy and run errands. Which everyone seemed to agree on for there were numerous people walking to and fro down the street. Shopping and gathering to make merry with friends. A niceˌ quiet day to relax.

Well it would be anyways if not for the very heated argument that was coming from the direction of the little café known as the Honky Tonk. People crossed the street to avoid the placeˌ not wanting to be caught up in whatever was going on. The owner of the caféˌ Paulˌ became very disheartened by this factˌ his paying customers weren't there to buy anythingˌ and turned once again to glare at the source of the commotion. The words flying through the air went along the lines of:

"MONKEY BOY!"

"SNAKE BASTARD!"

"IDIOT!"

"ASSHOLE!"

Paul sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Those two doofuses will never quit. The doofuses he was referring too were two men of about the same height. They both had dark colored hair that was spikey and wild. One man was slightly shorter than the other and wore roundˌ purple sunglasses that kept falling down his nose. The other wore a white bandana around his headˌ keeping his hair out of his eyes.

The sunglass wearer was more commonly known as Ban Midouˌ the Jagan Man; while the bandana wearer was called Shido Fuyukiˌ the Beast Master. Both extremely strong men in their own rights and very skilled fighters. They could defeat anyone with little to no effortˌ but when it comes to each other it seems they revert back to little kids in grade school.

"Would you two just quit it already? You're repelling customers." Paul was getting a little irritated at this point. He was losing the chance to make money after all.

"NO WAY! NOT UNTIL MONKEY BOY OVER HERE ADMITS I'M RIGHT!"

"AS IF!"

They've been fighting like this since early that morning when Ban came into the café looking for Ginji. Ban had come down from the apartment that he and Ginji sharedˌ it was located above the Honky Tonk and Paul was nice enough to let them stay there. It was more that Natsumiˌ the teenage girl that works part-time at the Honky Tonkˌ begged and pleaded at Paul to see the goodness in his heart to let the boys stay above the caféˌ otherwise they would be living on the streets. So of course he couldn't say noˌ but he adds rent to their already large tab that looks like it never will be paid anyways.

Paul liked having Natsumi aroundˌ she was a big help around the café and made him have less work to do. Natsumi herself was off todayˌ thoughˌ so she didn't have to deal with all the arguing and yelling. Lucky girl.

Ginji had left early that morning and Shido had arrived at the same timeˌ them passing each other at the door. They had a quick conversation before Ginji jogged down the street. All normal like. Paul didn't even know why Shido was even thereˌ he just sat down at the counter and ordered some tea. At least the beast master knew how to pay.

So when Ban came down the stairs expecting to find Ginji sitting at the counterˌ he instead found the beast master. They stared at each other for a good 2 minutes before the yelling started. They've been at it for almost six hours straight and Paul can't even remember why they started yelling at each other to begin with.

It seems they don't even remember anymore either and they were only arguing to argue. All the yelling was giving Paul a headache and he was about to smack the both of them upside the headˌ when he heard the bell above the door jingle. He turned his head and saw that Ginji had finally returned and with a dark figure in toe. The blonde Lighting Emperor had none other than Dr. Jackalˌ or Akabane to his acquaintancesˌ following him. It was a little strange to say the leastˌ unless you knew what Paul knew. He didn't even bat an eye at the pair.

"Ban? Shido? What's going on Paul?" Ginji had his head tilted to the sideˌ sporting a look of confusion.

"It appearsˌ Ginji-kunˌ that your two friends are yelling at each other." Akabane stated before Paul could speak.

"Well I can see that Akabane-sanˌ but why are thy fighting?" The Jackal just raised an eyebrow before they both turned at Paul's voice.

"Honestly Ginjiˌ I have no idea why they decided to fight for six hours straight and frankly I don't care what the reason for it is anymore. Ban walked down the stairsˌ saw Shido sitting hereˌ and they started yelling at each other." Paul said as he rubbed his aching head. "All I know is that if they don't stop soonˌ I'm going to kill the both of them."

By thenˌ the two spike-heads moved back to calling each other names. The words "ASSHOLE!" and "BASTARD!" being thrown aroundˌ with a few other curse words here and there. Paul was just thanking his lucky stars the two bastards hadn't started throwing punches yetˌ he didn't think his poor café could handle such a battle.

"Come on you twoˌ let's stop the yelling and calm downˌ huh?" Ginji had his hands upˌ palms outˌ trying to placate his friends.

They kept at itˌ neither Ban nor Shido even noticing that Ginji had returned. They seemed to be just getting worseˌ Shido now growling at Ban occasionally.

Ginji was sort of at a lossˌ smiling stupidly as he stared at themˌ not knowing what to do. He didn't want to get in the middle of it if they were on the verge of fist fighting. He was surprised it hadn't gotten to that point yet. He was thankful he didn't have to do anything since Akabane stepped around him ready to do something himself.

With a flick of his wristˌ Akabane sent two scalpels flying at Ban and Shido. Neither of the sharp medical instruments actually hit the menˌ but instead zoomed past their facesˌ catching their attention. As oneˌ the two turned towards the door where Ginji and Akabane were still standing.

"If the two of you are quit doneˌ Ginji-kun and I would like to have lunch." Akabane said pulling the blonde to one of the booths to sit down. It only took Ban 10 seconds before he recovered from his shocked daze. Ban focused in on Ginji and the Jackal with a very suspicious look on his face. Shido just kept growling lightly at Ban from where he was satˌ a little pissed at the Jackal for interrupting them.

"What do you mean 'lunch' and what's with the 'Ginji-kun' stuff?"

"Lunch is the afternoon mealˌ Ban-sanˌ and is much more enjoyable when shared with a friend."

"Don't talk at me like I'm five! I know what lunch meansˌ you stupid Jackal!"

 _Greatˌ more yelling…_ Paul was going to kill them for giving him this headache.

"To answer your other questionˌ I call him Ginji-kun because he's my Ginji-kun."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR 'GINJI-KUN'?! HE'S NOT YOURS!"

"Ban please calm down." Ginji had a small blush painting his cheeks.

"Don't tell me to calm down Ginji! WHAT DOES HE MEAN?!" Ban was really pissed off now.

"~ _Sigh_ ~ and to think I thought you were smarter than thatˌ Ban." Akabane was giving Ban a very condescending look and it was pissing Ban off even more. He even started growling at Jackal. Of course it wasn't as impressive as Shido's of courseˌ but still a growl.

"If I must spell it out for you…. Ginji-kun and I have been happily dating each other for three weeks." Akabane then reached up a hand and wrapped his arm around Ginji's shouldersˌ almost pulling the blonde onto his lap in the process. Which made Ginji blush even harder.

Ban's eyes went wide. Hell even Shido's eyes widened. The only one who didn't seem surprised was Paul who just opened the day's newspaper and began readingˌ he'd known about it since week one.

Ban was shocked beyond belief. He took a step or two back. "Uhhhh" was all he could get out before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he promptly fainted.

* * *

Author's Note

Hey everyone! Yes I am not dead! Shocker I know. XD I've been having trouble getting internet access but I managed!

First I would like to say I have not given up on my other storyˌ _A World Beyond Ours_ ˌ I just haven't gotten back into the mindset to work on that one. Let me watch some Naruto episodes and then I can back to work on it. :D

For right nowˌ I'm in a _Get Backers_ faze and decided to write this story. There aren't many fanfics that I've seen with a Shido/Ban main pairingˌ so I'm adding to the collection. I'm also in a Skyrim faze and have a sort of back story in progress (about 2 chapters) that I will begin posting as well.

Reviews are much appreciatedˌ but are not mandatory. I would also like to ask that you don't expect regular chapter uploadsˌ for I am currently in college and rarely have much free time. Though the next chapter is complete and just needs a good once over before posting. The third chapter is started as wellˌ so don't worry. :D

P.S.

The next chapter will be in Shido's point of view on what happened in chapter one and the third chapter will be in Ban's point of view on what happened in chapter one as well. They will both end with Ban fainting and then the fourth chapter will start with what happens right after.

Not all chapters will be one in normal point of view then the next two being about the same event in either Ban or Shido's POV; it's just that way in the beginning. All the rest will most likely be normal point of view with the occasional specific view thrown in here and there. Just to warn you guys. J

P.P.S

Ban will already have feelings for Shidoˌ but tries his best to hide them. Shido will discover his feelings after realizing Ban is his mate. I will find some way to make the whole 'mate' thing work so don't worry. It will work itself out.

Until next time!


	2. Chapter 2

Summary

What happens when Shido realizes that Ban is his mate? Does he act on his new feelings or does he just ignore Ban even more? Will they ever stop fighting? There friends can only hope. _Shido/Ban Main Pairing; Other Minor Side Pairings; Mates! verse_

Characters/Pairings Main Pairing

Shido/Ban

Side Pairings

Akabane/Ginji

Kazuki/Juubei

Single Side Characters

Natsumi

Paul

Hevn

Monica

Disclaimer

Firstlyˌ I do not own anything pertaining to the storyline of The Get Backersˌ nor do I own any recognizable characters from the show. I only own this story and any characters I have made up for it.

Secondlyˌ if you do not like male/male pairings or any of the pairings in specificˌ I respect that but please don't read this fanfic and say mean things about it. As it is fanfictionˌ it is my personal opinions and likes and I would ask that you respect that.

Thirdlyˌ If you like this sort of thingˌ please do read and review if you wish.

Enjoy! Or not. It's entirely up to you.

* * *

Chapter 2

 _It really is a nice day today._ Shido thought as he walked down the street. He had left his animals at Monica's today. Once in a while he liked to spend some time to himselfˌ away from his animals and Monica was kind enough to offer to watch them once in a while for him.

Some might think that he and the blind violinist were in a relationship or something. And Shido did have feelings for her at firstˌ but it turned out to be more of a brotherly love towards a little sister than a romantic love towards a potential mate. She herself even admitted that all she felt for him was a little crushˌ but nothing more. He was just glad they could stay friends.

Since he really didn't know what he was going to do todayˌ Shido decided to visit Ginji at the Honky Tonk. He hadn't seen the Lightning Emperor for a few weeks now and he was starting to miss the overly cheerful man. He hates to admit it and he doesn't even know whyˌ but some small part of him missed the snake bastard as well.

He had made it to the Honky Tonk just as Ginji was leavingˌ which made Shido lift an eyebrow at him under his bandana.

"Oh! Hey Shidoˌ what's up?" Ginji asked with that silly smile on his face.

"I came to see you actually."

"Oh sorryˌ but I've got to run somewhere. I'll be back in a little bit if you want to wait here?" Ginji was starting to rock on his heels; he really did seem in a hurry.

Shido just nodded at him.

"Great! I'll see you later then." The blonde said as he began jogging down the street.

Shido turned into the café and sat down at the counterˌ greeting Paul.

"Hey Shidoˌ what can I get you?" Paul put down the glass he was cleaning before turning towards his first customer of the day.

"Tea's fine." Shido repliedˌ placing money on the counter. Paul set his tea down before him and sat down in his own chairˌ picking up the day's paper.

They sat in silence for a few minutesˌ when Shido heard movement from up the stairs. He looked towards Paulˌ but he kept reading the paper as if it was normalˌ so Shido just ignored it and went back to his tea.

When there was footsteps coming down the stairsˌ Shido turned towards the noise and saw Ban Midouˌ the Jagan userˌ standing thereˌ he had an 'Oh Shit" moment. He didn't know the bastard was here; he wouldn't have waited if he did.

Some small part of him was happy the man was there and Shido was cursing and growling in his head at it. _I'm not happy he's here! I'm not!_

They stared at each other for a couple of minutes. Shido was just about to stand up and walk out of the Honky Tonkˌ before the smaller man had to open his mouth.

"What the hell are you doing here Monkey Boy?!"

"What does it look like Snake Bastard? I'm drinking tea. I didn't think I needed your permission to drink tea here." Shido really just wanted to leaveˌ he didn't want to start fighting the snake bastard this early in the morning. Apparently Ban did.

"I didn't think you were civilized enough to be out in public." Ban sneered at him.

Now that really made Shido angry.

"YOU ASSHOLE!"

And that was it. They started yelling at each other. Going from one thing to another until Shido couldn't remember why they were fighting in the first place. He couldn't even tell how long they were fighting before Paul spoke up.

"Would you two just quit already? You're repelling customers." He wasn't yelling like they wereˌ but you could tell he was angry.

"NO WAY! NOT UNTIL MONKEY BOY OVER HERE ADMITS I'M RIGHT!" Ban yelledˌ not even looking away from Shido.

"AS IF!" Shido yelled right back. He didn't know what he wasn't admitting toˌ but he didn't care. Whatever it wasˌ the idiot was probably wrong anyways.

They kept on fighting and Shido was so angry that he started growling occasionally at Ban. They both froze when something zoomed passedˌ uncomfortably close to their noses.

As one they turned towards the door to the café to find Ginji standing there with Dr. Jackal. Shido hadn't even realized that they had walked in and hated Ban even more in that moment for distracting him to the point he didn't even notice someone entering the room.

"If the two of you are quit doneˌ Ginji-kun and I would like to have lunch." Akabane pulled Ginji pass them towards one of the booths.

Shido didn't pay them much attention after they sat downˌ and just kept lightly growling at Ban. He hadn't actually hear what Akabane had saidˌ but was a little pissed at him for interrupting his argument with Ban. An argument he knew he was winningˌ even if he didn't know what their argument was currently about.

His anger flared again when Ban ignored him to focus in on the two sitting in the booth.

"What do you mean 'lunch' and what's with the 'Ginji-kun' stuff?"

"Lunch is the afternoon mealˌ Ban-sanˌ and is much more enjoyable when shared with a friend." Akabane said back in an even voice.

"Don't talk at me like I'm five! I know what lunch meansˌ you stupid Jackal!"

Shido had to smirk at that. Ban really was acting like a child. They both wereˌ but Shido didn't realize itˌ or at least wouldn't admit it.

"To answer your other questionˌ I call him Ginji-kun because he's my Ginji-kun."

Shido raised his eyebrow as Ban practically screechedˌ "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR 'GINJI-KUN'?! HE'S NOT YOURS!"

Shido went back to growling at him. That screech hurt his ears.

"Ban please calm down." Ginji tried.

"Don't tell me to calm down Ginji! WHAT DOES HE MEAN?!" _More screechingˌ great._

"~ _Sigh_ ~ and to think I thought you were smarter than thatˌ Ban." Shido didn't know whyˌ but he was getting angry at the condescending look Akabane was giving Ban. When Ban himself started growlingˌ it somewhat surprised the Beast Master. He stared at the Jagan user and something unknown stirred in his stomach. It confused him.

"If I must spell it out for you… Ginji-kun and I have been happily dating each other for three weeks." Shido's eyes widened when the Jackal reached up and wrapped an arm around the blonde. He wasn't shocked that Ginji swung that wayˌ he really didn't care if the Lightning Emporer liked guys. What shocked him was the fact he went for a guy like Dr. Jackal.

He sensed Ban moving backwards and turned just in time to see him start to fall over. Without thinkingˌ Shido moved. Reaching outˌ he caught Ban before he could land hard on the ground.

* * *

Author's Note

End of chapter 2! Hope you liked it.

Just a reminderˌ next chapter will be in Ban's point of view.

Once againˌ reviews are appreciated but not required. If you want to suggest something or correct anything I might have mixed up about anything to do with the original _Get Backers_ don't hesitate to let me know. Any advice you have for me is welcome!

And on that note, I would like to thank CreepyBunny for their nice words. So, Thank You! And Your Welcome. ;3


	3. Chapter 3

Summary

What happens when Shido realizes that Ban is his mate? Does he act on his new feelings or does he just ignore Ban even more? Will they ever stop fighting? There friends can only hope. _Shido/Ban Main Pairing; Other Minor Side Pairings; Mates! verse_

Characters/Pairings Main Pairing

Shido/Ban

Side Pairings

Akabane/Ginji

Kazuki/Juubei

Single Side Characters

Natsumi

Paul

Hevn

Monica

Disclaimer

Firstlyˌ I do not own anything pertaining to the storyline of The Get Backersˌ nor do I own any recognizable characters from the show. I only own this story and any characters I have made up for it.

Secondlyˌ if you do not like male/male pairings or any of the pairings in specificˌ I respect that but please don't read this fanfic and say mean things about it. As it is fanfictionˌ it is my personal opinions and likes and I would ask that you respect that.

Thirdlyˌ If you like this sort of thingˌ please do read and review if you wish.

Enjoy! Or not. It's entirely up to you.

You can thank CreeperBunny for this chapter. It was because they reviewed that I made some time to post. :D

* * *

 _Beep-Beep! Beep-Beep!_

"Mng…" The grunt had come from the sleeping figure lying on one of the two beds within the apartment above the Honky Tonk.

It was a very simple place; not very big but not too small either. There was enough room for two bedsˌ one for Ban and the other for Ginjiˌ and a small kitchen area. They didn't have a bathroomˌ so they use the one located within the café itself.

 _Beep-Beep! Beep-Beep!_

"Mmm…Ginji turn off the alarm." Ban moaned from under the covers.

 _Beep-Beep! Beep-Beep!_

"Ginji get the alarm!" The alarm wasn't turned up very loud; Paul complained the first time it went off saying it was way too loudˌ so they had to keep it quieter. It was fine because Ban wasn't a very deep sleeper and always heard it. Then he woke Ginji up to turn it off. So they always got up in timeˌ or at least a decent time.

 _Beep-Beep! Beep-Beep!_

After the fourth beep-beepˌ Ban had had enough and got out of bedˌ rather grumpilyˌ to turn off the alarm. He didn't take into account that his legs were wrapped up in his thin blanket and fell off the bed in a heap of limbs. He had hit his head slightly on the way down and now it was throbbing lightly.

"Owˌ owˌ ow…" Ban sat up rubbing his head. _Stupid blanket._

 _Beep-Beep! Beep-Beep!_

Ban looked towards Ginji's bed from his place on the floor and noticed that Ginji wasn't in it. "What the hell? Where'd he go?" Ban wondered aloud as he stood upˌ disentangling himself from the blankets in the processˌ and turned off the alarm.

He was a little mad at Ginji for not being there to turn off the alarm. He was in the middle of one of his reoccurring dreams about a certain Beast Master. He's been having the same dream for some time nowˌ but he always wakes up before he can find out how it ends and he really wants to find out.

Ban has had a crush on Shido Fuyuki for some time nowˌ but he wouldn't admit that out loud. He's supposed to hate the beast freak not have a crush on him. That's why Ban keeps trying to delude himselfˌ always picking fights and yelling at monkey boyˌ so his true feelings won't see the light of day. But enough on that.

 _Ginji must already be downstairs. Weird._ Ban thought to himself as he changed from his pajama bottoms into his usual black tankˌ white t-shirtˌ and black pants.

Ban's stomach growled lightly as he was picking up his bed.

"Man am I hungry. Wonder if Paul has something made…" Ban made his way down the stairs leading to the café. Half way down he got a slight uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomachˌ but mistook it for hunger pains. When he got all the way down the stepsˌ his eyes landed on the figure sitting at the counter. He expected to find Ginji sitting thereˌ but instead he was met with a head of hair as spikey as his own.

"What the hell are you doing here Monkey Boy?!" On the insideˌ Ban was ecstatic that Shido was there. He liked spending time with the fellow spike-headˌ but still hated to admit it.

"What does it look like Snake Bastard? I'm drinking tea. I didn't think I needed your permission to drink tea here."

"I didn't think you were civilized enough to be out in public." Ban snorted; he had to keep appearances though and tried to get the other man to fight with him.

He could see the anger on Shido's face and knew he accomplished his goal.

"YOU ASSHOLE!"

And they were off. Yelling at each other about this and that. Ban kept coming up with new things to argue about so Shido would have to stay. It was childish and he knew itˌ but he liked having the Beast Master's attention. It was negative attentionˌ but still attention.

"Would you two just quit already? You're repelling customers." Paul spoke up after some time; not yellingˌ but still angry.

"NO WAY! NOT UNTIL MONKEY BOY OVER HERE ADMITS I'M RIGHT!" Ban yelled. Shido was starting to look like he was getting tired of fighting. And saying the Monkey Boy had to admit Ban was right easily got Shido angry and willing to fight all over again.

"AS IF!" Ban was inwardly proud of how much he knew about the other man.

They fought for a while longerˌ Ban hiding a blush 'cause Shido kept growling at him and the Jagan user thought it was quit sexy. They both froze when something almost hit both of their noses.

Ban was surprised to see Ginji and Dr. Jackal standing in front of the door to the café. He hadn't even heard them come in.

"If the two of you are quit doneˌ Ginji-kun and I would like to have lunch." While Akabane pulled Ginji passedˌ Ban's mind began reeling; _Wait… WHAT?!_

"What do you mean 'lunch' and what's with the 'Ginji-kun' stuff?" Ban was so focused on the two sitting in the booth that he didn't realize Shido was still growling at him.

"Lunch is the afternoon mealˌ Ban-sanˌ and is much more enjoyable when shared with a friend." Akabane said in answer.

"Don't talk at me like I'm five! I know what lunch meansˌ you stupid Jackal!" Ban remembered why he hated the man so muchˌ he was really annoying and always pissed Ban off.

"To answer your other questionˌ I call him Ginji-kun because he is my Ginji-kun."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR 'GINJI-KUN'?! HE"S NOT YOURS!" Ban screeched. He couldn't understand it! Why would Ginji be the Jackal bastard's? It didn't make sense.

"Ban please calm down." Now Ginji was trying to placate him!

"Don't tell me to calm down Ginji! WHAT DOES HE MEAN?!" Ban was confused and angry and almost to the point of hyperventilation.

"~ _Sigh_ ~ and to think I thought you were smarter than thatˌ Ban." Now that was the last straw! Ban was borderline rabid and even began growling. He was a little shocked by itˌ he doesn't normally start growling at people. But he'd have to wonder about that more later on.

"If I must spell it out for you… Ginji-kun and I have been happily dating each other for three weeks." Ban's mind went blankˌ just completely blank. He didn't know what to think.

He felt dizzy and took a couple of steps back to try and keep his balance. The only sound that made it out of his mouth was "Uhhhh" before he couldn't take the dizziness anymore. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he just let the darkness consume him.

* * *

Author's Note

That's the third chapter! Hope you liked it.

From now onˌ the chapters will mainly be in normal view. I will warn you if a chapter will be in any specific view so you won't get confused.

Reveiws are appreciated but not required!

To CreeperBunny: I'm glad you liked that line. And I'm glad you're liking my story so far! Hope you liked this latest chapter. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary**

What happens when Shido realizes that Ban is his mate? Does he act on his new feelings or does he just ignore Ban even more? Will they ever stop fighting? There friends can only hope. _Shido/Ban Main Pairing; Other Minor Side Pairings; Mates! Verse_

 **Characters/Pairings Main Pairing**

Shido/Ban

Side Pairings

Akabane/Ginji

Kazuki/Juubei

 **Single Side Characters**

Natsumi

Paul

Hevn

Monica

 **Disclaimer**

Firstlyˌ I do not own anything pertaining to the storyline of The Get Backersˌ nor do I own any recognizable characters from the show. I only own this story and any characters I have made up for it.

Secondlyˌ if you do not like male/male pairings or any of the pairings in specificˌ I respect that but please don't read this fanfic and say mean things about it. As it is fanfictionˌ it is my personal opinions and likes and I would ask that you respect that.

Thirdlyˌ If you like this sort of thingˌ please do read and review if you wish.

Enjoy! Or not. It's entirely up to you.

* * *

Everyone was shocked that Ban's reaction was to the point of fainting.

"OH MY GOD! BAN!" Ginji hadn't wanted to break the news to Ban like that.

He wanted to ease the Jagan man gradually into the thought of him dating Akabane. But no! Akabane had to flat out say it and in that condescending tone of his. Ginji figured that Ban would be shockedˌ but didn't expect him to faint like that. It was rather worrisome.

What was even more worrisome was how Shido was reactingˌ growling deep in his throat and glaring at any movement. He had Ban cradled close to his chest; Ban's head resting over Shido's heart. The worrisome part wasn't that Shido had caught Ban, the Jagan user would have hit his head on the counter otherwise. No what worried Ginji slightly was the fact that it has been almost 5 minutes and Shido hasn't let go.

" _Stupid Akabane! This is all his fault."_ Ginji was pouting up a storm by this point. Not only had Akabane caused Ban to faint, he made Shido act weird as well.

Ginji began to move closer to Shido, trying to get a look at Ban to see if he was alright. The Beast Master noticed the movement instantly and swung his clawed hand towards the blonde's head. Ginji instinctively flinched, but before the blow could connect, another hand had reached out and grabbed Shido around the wrist. Ginji turned and 'meep'-ed when he saw Shido's claws barely an inch from his head.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't harm my Ginji-kun, Mr. Beast Master." Now Akabane was glaring back at the still growling Shido.

"Wha?" Ginji, now in his chibi form, turned to look up at Akabane.

Shido didn't say anything as he wrenched his arm from Akabane's grasp. He placed Ban gently into one of the booths against the wall before he turned on the Jackal.

With claws out and teeth bared, Shido charged at Akabane, aiming for the man's throat.

* * *

Author's Note

Hey guys!

I know I haven't been updating. Like, at all, and I want to apologize to anyone and everyone who have been waiting patiently for me to get off my ass and write.

I should probably explain why I haven't updated since God knows when.

1\. I am a college student (if I haven't said so before) and doing school work is more important than writing my stories. Sorry, but that's how it is.

2\. My access to the internet is, I hate to admit, rather scarce and any time I can get on is spent on school work.

3\. I could go to the library and use the free Wi-Fi, but I have no car in which to do so and no one who would take me.

I had this chapter already mostly written and have never really gotten the chance to finish it. I'm really only posting now because I got a review this morning asking for an update and felt bad for leaving you guys hanging.

It's way shorter than the others I apologize, but I can guarantee the next one will be longer.

I can't guarantee however, when the next one will be posted. I will try to work on my stories some more, but I do have midterms to complete.

So until I eventually post again,

Taric

Reviews are, as usual, appreciated, but not required.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary**

What happens when Shido realizes that Ban is his mate? Does he act on his new feelings or does he just ignore Ban even more? Will they ever stop fighting? There friends can only hope. _Shido/Ban Main Pairing; Other Minor Side Pairings; Mates! Verse_

 **Characters/Pairings Main Pairing**

Shido/Ban

 **Side Pairings**

Akabane/Ginji

Kazuki/Juubei

 **Single Side Characters**

Natsumi

Paul

Hevn

Monica

 **Disclaimer**

Firstlyˌ I do not own anything pertaining to the storyline of The Get Backersˌ nor do I own any recognizable characters from the show. I only own this story and any characters I have made up for it.

Secondlyˌ if you do not like male/male pairings or any of the pairings in specificˌ I respect that but please don't read this fanfic and say mean things about it. As it is fanfictionˌ it is my personal opinions and likes and I would ask that you respect that.

Thirdlyˌ If you like this sort of thingˌ please do read and review if you wish.

Enjoy! Or not. It's entirely up to you.

* * *

 _It's warm…_

Ban groaned lightly as he slowly came back into consciousness. He couldn't remember why he was unconscious, but at the moment he really didn't care. He was comfortable and he was warm. He didn't open his eyes, but he was semi-awake. He had a slight headache and knew from experience, that if he opened his eyes, the light would make it worse. So he kept them closed.

He very well might have fallen back to sleep if the bed, or what he had assumed to be a bed, started to shift. Ban immediately opened his eyes, instantly regretting it, and stared at the shifting 'bed' below him. It was now very apparent as to why he had felt so warm. He was laying on top of someone. And not just any someone; no he was laying on none other than his crush, Shido Fuyuki, himself.

Ban wasn't laying directly on Shido, but more snuggled up to the Beast Master's right side. Their legs were tangled together, Ban's head had been tucked slightly under Shido's chin, and Ban's right hand had rested over Shido's heart. Shido himself had both arms wrapped around Ban in an either protective or possessive way: one arm wrapped around the waist and the other on the back close to the Jagan User's neck.

Ban let out an, admittedly, unmanly "eep!" and began to sit up. Shido gave out a huff and tightened his arms around Ban, effectively pinning him in place against his chest. Ban stared at the, very familiar, wall in front of him.

 _What the hell happened?!_ Ban screamed in his head. Why he didn't shout out loud is a mystery to him. _(Or he actually just didn't want to wake Shido and end his long-dreamed snuggle-fest with the Beast Master. Who knows?)_ At least the Beast Master was thankfully _(disappointingly)_ still clothed in at least pants if nothing else. Ban can safely say that even if they had slept together, they didn't actually **sleep** together.

He wasn't thankful that they hadn't had sex. In fact he would have loved it if they did, but it would be sad if they had and he just couldn't remember.

That's something that he would want to remember everything about.

 _No wonder I was so warm…_ Ban moved his head about until he was staring up into the face of the, still, sleeping Beast Master. His eyes roamed unashamedly over said face. _Why pass up such an opportunity? At least no one will know._

His eyes moved from the strong jaw, up to the curve of slightly parted lips, pass hard cheek bones, to finally land on closed eyes; this was the most peaceful Ban had seen said eyes in his presence, they were usually kept in a glare. Ban's eyes eventually moved higher passing Shido's uncovered forehead to his hair. The pitch-black locks were splayed out across the (Ban's) pillow. _If only I could move my arms…_

Ban noticed a bit of red in his peripheral and looked to see that Shido had a cut above his left eyebrow. _What the…?_ The cut wasn't very deep and appeared to have already stopped bleeding. Now Ban really wanted to know what had happened.

" _Sh-Shido_?" Ban whispered.

Shido grumbled a little, but otherwise gave no reply. _Still asleep._

"Shido?" Ban said a little louder.

Shido grumbled once again, but he also shifted about slightly as well. _Still asleep!_

"Shido?"

This time Shido didn't do anything.

"Okay, that's it…" Ban huffed and began to wiggle about in Shido's vice-like hold. To Ban's disappointment, it did not wake the Beast Master. Instead, the grip got stronger, if possible, and Shido let out a rather loud growl that vibrated his whole chest and Ban's head with it.

That made Ban freeze and involuntarily give out a whimper which shocked himself. He has never whimpered before for any reason. _What is wrong with me?_

Ban was shocked once again when he realized Shido was waking up because he whimpered _. I wasn't even that loud!_

Shido groaned and reached up with a hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He yawned and let go of Ban's waist to sit up, Ban rising as well.

"Um… Shido?" Ban said hesitantly.

Shido didn't say anything. He instead turned to look at Ban the reached out and dragged the Jagan User over his leg and into his lap. Ban gave out another unmanly "eep!" but didn't actually do anything to stop the other man. When Shido had Ban settled on his lap, he wrapped his arms back around the smaller man's waist; resting his head on a shoulder.

They sat that way for a while. Ban didn't know if he should say anything or what. Ban turned his head to look at the other man and blushed a little when he found the other man staring back.

"Shido?"

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Hey Guys!

Four days since my last upload; a new record!

As I promised, this chapter is more than twice the length of the previous.

I finished my mid-term earlier than I thought so I had some time to kill. With nothing else school-wise to do, I work on chapter 5.

Before I say anything else, I would like to respond to a couple reviews I got:

ASmileWithSecrets - First off, I would like to thank you. I'm glad you liked it! :) Secondly, don't worry, I didn't feel rushed to write a new chapter, but appreciate you concern.

darkhuntressxir - I'm glad you like my story and don't worry, i have no plans to abandon it in the foreseeable future. it might be put on hold one or twice, but never abandoned. :)

To anyone else who didn't feel like writing a review but are still reading my story, Thank you and please be patient with me. :3

Until next time,

Taric

P.S. Still no guarantees when the next chapter will be posted.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary**

What happens when Shido realizes that Ban is his mate? Does he act on his new feelings or does he just ignore Ban even more? Will they ever stop fighting? There friends can only hope. _Shido/Ban Main Pairing; Other Minor Side Pairings; Mates! Verse_

 **Characters/Pairings Main Pairing**

Shido/Ban

 **Side Pairings**

Akabane/Ginji

Kazuki/Juubei

 **Single Side Characters**

Natsumi

Paul

Hevn

Monica

 **Disclaimer**

Firstlyˌ I do not own anything pertaining to the storyline of The Get Backersˌ nor do I own any recognizable characters from the show. I only own this story and any characters I have made up for it.

Secondlyˌ if you do not like male/male pairings or any of the pairings in specificˌ I respect that but please don't read this fanfic and say mean things about it. As it is fanfictionˌ it is my personal opinions and likes and I would ask that you respect that.

Thirdlyˌ If you like this sort of thingˌ please do read and review if you wish.

Enjoy! Or not. It's entirely up to you.

* * *

"Shido?"

Shido huffed out a breath at his name, but otherwise didn't say anything. His mind was in a fog; thoughts flying everywhere and nowhere all at once.

He was disoriented and admittedly, a bit confused. He couldn't figure out why he had acted in such a way. He's never felt this protective over the Snake Bastard before; hell, they've nearly killed each other before.

 _My head hurts…_ Shido huffed again and buried his nose in the juncture between Ban's neck and shoulder. _He smells good…_

Shido couldn't see, but Ban was blushing furiously. The Jagan User cleared his throat before he started to speak.

"Um, Sh-Shido? Are you alright?" he stuttered out.

"Mmm…" the hum he gave was verging on a growl, but not quite there.

"Are you sure you're alright? I mean this is the longest we've been in the same room without starting a shouting fight and I'm not saying I'm uncomfortable or anything, but how you're acting is really confusing me and I'm just worried something's wrong and – _Gasp!_ -"

Shido must admit that he has always liked the sound of Ban's voice, but at the moment however, Shido just wanted peace and quiet so he could figure out his own mind and Ban's rambling wasn't helping. So, not knowing what else to do, Shido opened his mouth and nipped at Ban's collarbone.

 _At least he's quiet…_ "What the hell?!" _…never mind._ Ban began wiggling about on the Beast Master's lap, trying to elbow or hit the man behind him.

"Let go of me!" Shido grunted as Ban lifted his shoulder forcefully and slammed his lower jaw painfully into his upper with a very audible clatter of teeth.

Shido couldn't help the almost whiney growl that made it out of his throat. Every tooth was flaring and throbbing in pain and he let the flailing man go in favor of reaching for his chin.

Ban instantly took the opportunity and leaped from the bed. He was aiming for Ginji's bed, but didn't quite judge the distance right and, instead of landing on his friend's overly cushy bed, Ban landed on the floor right in front of it.

"Shit!" Ban gasped out. He had landed rather painfully on his right knee and leaned against Ginji's bed as he grasped it tightly.

Jaw still throbbing, Shido moved to get off the bed as well, but what he didn't account for was the sheets that had wrapped around his legs while he was maneuvering Ban into his lap. His left leg was half way off the bed when it abruptly stopped. If Shido hadn't already been leaning over to get up, he wouldn't have fallen off the bed, but he had and he did.

He landed on his shoulder and his head collided with the floor very painfully. He hissed out in pain and the hand that was previously holding his chin moved to grip his head, a headache quickly forming on the left side next to his ear.

Ban, once again utilizing the opportunity presented him, ungracefully hopped to his feet, almost going down again, before he limped towards the door. He doesn't know what's wrong with the Beast Master and he certainly would like to find that out. If he's going to be anything resembling intimate with his fellow spiky-head, he wants to be damned sure the other man is in his right mind for it.

He'll gladly take any opportunity given to him, but he will not take advantage of someone clearly off their rocker.

He winced his way down the stairs and sprinted, the best he could, through the Honky Tonk, passing a surprised Ginji and Natsumi, and out the door. He made his way down the street and tried to put as much distance between him and the café as possible. He would've taken his ladybug, but he hadn't grabbed the keys as he was fleeing and he didn't know how long it would take for Shido to follow him.

As Ban ran, Shido was still on the floor. He waited until his head hurt within a reasonable tolerance, before he nearly ripped the sheets as he unwrapped his legs. He stood a little shakily and took a moment for his head to stop spinning. Once he was sure he wouldn't fall back to the floor, the Beast Master walked to and down the stairs leading to the Honky Tonk.

As his feet touched the bottom, a bolt of electricity buzzed pass his head. It would have gotten him if he hadn't jerked backwards, but in doing so, his head throbbed painfully, his vision swimming dangerously, and he fell backwards onto the steps he just walked down. One dug painfully into his back as he sat where he was, waiting for his head to stop throbbing again.

"Shido!" _That's_ _ **not**_ _helping._

Said man turned towards the shout and was met with the glare of a very furious and chibi-fied Ginji standing on one of the bar stools.

"What did you do to Ban?!" he yelled, pointing a finger at the injured man.

"Ginji-san! Please calm down! Boss would be very mad if you electrocuted anything!" Natsumi had her hands together above her head in a pleading gesture, "I'm sure Mr. Fujioka deserves it, but could you take him outside to fry him, please?"

Ginji huffed, but calmed down. It was never a good idea to anger Paul, especially since he was his landlord.

Natsumi smiled at him and Shido would have glared, and most likely growled, at her if his head wasn't still throbbing painfully.

 _Damn brat._

* * *

 **Author's Note**

My semester has finally come to an end! Yea summer!

And with summer and all my free time, I've decided to work on my stories.

So you can expect more chapters for this one.

Before I get to responding to reviews, I would like to say that I'm sorry you guys had to wait so long for an update and thank you to anyone patiently waiting on me. You guys are great. :)

Now to the reviews:

daia sakura- I'm glad you think so.

darkhuntressxir- I'm glad you think so as well and I know what you mean.

ASmileWithSecrets- Sorry, this was probably not the action you were thinking of, huh? :3 I'm glad my story made your night better, it made mine better hearing that. Also, I got an A- on that midterm. :)

Anonny- I know what you mean. There are way too few stories for this pair and I'm glad to add to them.

To all those too lazy to leave a review- Thanks for reading my story and please continue to be patient with me.

I guess that's all for now. So, until next time,

Taric


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary**

What happens when Shido realizes that Ban is his mate? Does he act on his new feelings or does he just ignore Ban even more? Will they ever stop fighting? There friends can only hope. _Shido/Ban Main Pairing; Other Minor Side Pairings; Mates! verse_

 **Characters/Pairings**

 **Main Pairing**

Shido/Ban

 **Side Pairings**

Akabane/Ginji

Kazuki/Juubei

 **Single Side Characters**

Natsumi

Paul

Hevn

Monica

 **Disclaimer**

Firstlyˌ I do not own anything pertaining to the storyline of The Get Backersˌ nor do I own any recognizable characters from the show. I only own this story and any characters I have made up for it.

Secondlyˌ if you do not like male/male pairings or any of the pairings in specificˌ I respect that but please don't read this fanfic and say mean things about it. As it is fanfictionˌ it is my personal opinions and likes and I would ask that you respect that.

Thirdlyˌ If you like this sort of thingˌ please do read and review if you wish.

Enjoy! Or not. It's entirely up to you.

* * *

"Okay, now that Ginji-san isn't going to burn the place down. Shido-san, do you want to tell us what happened between you and Ban-san?" Natsumi placed a cup of warm coffee, a glass of water, and some strong pain killers in front of the grumbling Beast Master. Ginji was glaring at him from the back booth where he and Ban usually interviewed potential cases. Shido was sat in the bar stool closest to the door and farthest from the Lightning Lord.

"No." Shido growled out at her. He picked up the pills and tossed them into his mouth, taking big gulps of water to wash them down.

He doesn't need an interrogation. What he needed was to go find Ban. Which made him angry because he didn't understand why. Which made him growl and grumble at everyone. Which made him angry because he doesn't like acting that way in front of others. Which made him grumble even more.

"- _Sigh-_ I don't think Ginji-san is going to let you leave without giving him some sort of explanation, so I advise you say something, Shido-san." Natsumi said before taking a sip from her own cup of over-sugared coffee.

He glared into his coffee as he thought about what happened. _All I did was hold him in bed. Why would he react like that? Why was_ _ **I**_ _acting like that?_ He slammed his hand upon the counter and growled out, "I don't know."

"Okay, then why was Ban-san running from you?" she looked to the counter in slight concern. Shido was strong enough to shatter it and she didn't want to be the one to tell Paul he needed to replace it.

"I don't know." Thankfully, the Beast Master didn't hit the counter this time.

"Well, what did you do to or were doing with him?" Natsumi walked over to Ginji and placed a cup of water in front of him. He stopped glaring at Shido long enough to pout at her. She smiled at him apologetically; she wasn't allowed to give either him or Ban anything more than water when Paul wasn't present. Something about wanting to make sure he was the one keeping track of their tab.

Shido mumbled something at her, but his voice was so low she couldn't hear him from that distance. Natsumi walked back over to him before asking, "Could you repeat that?" She leaned in close so she could hear him this time.

"I was holding him." And before she could, he added, "Don't ask me why."

The bell above the door jingled as it opened, cutting off whatever she was going to say. She automatically turned towards the sound, gave an eye-closed smile, and bid the potential customer with a, "Welcome! What can I get for you?"

"Some tea would be nice, Natsumi-chan."

"Oh! It's nice to see you, Kazuki-san. How have you been?" She quickly turned to put a kettle on, already preparing a cup to pour in.

"Well, thank you. Yourself?" said man sat himself down on the stool next to the Beast Master.

"I'm fine, thanks. Here you are." She placed the cup of tea in front of Kazuki before she jumped as Ginji shouted, "KAZUKI!"

The Lightning Lord jumped out of his booth and landed on the more feminine man's head in his chibi-fied form. He began rubbing his cheek against the others long, black hair and was babbling on, asking him to buy Ginji a sandwich or something else to eat.

"It's nice to see you too, Ginji." He took a sip of his tea as he turned to look at Shido, still glaring into his untouched, now cold coffee, and grumbling incoherently.

"Where's Juubei-san? Isn't he usually always with you?" Natsumi questioned. Ginji abruptly stopped his begging and looked around, not seeing the needle user anywhere.

"Yeah, where is he? I haven't seen you without him since you guys told us about your relationship." The blonde was now sitting on the stool to Kazuki's right and staring at him in confusion then in worry. "He's not sick is he?"

"Oh no, Juubei isn't sick. He's down the street with Ban."

Shido automatically rose from his slightly hunched position and turned so fast towards Kazuki that Natsumi thought he got whiplash.

Anger flashed in his eyes as he growled out, "What did you say?"

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Hey guys! Yes I'm alive.

Sorry it's been so long since I last updated, but summer has been pretty busy for me so far. I was DD for a friend's wine tasting trip, had a house to clean, a room to reorganize (my furniture is way too heavy!), brothers to watch, garden to tend, dog to walk, heat to beat(our air conditioner is on the fritz).

See what I mean?

I'm not dying of heat today, so I decided to finish up this chapter and post it for all my lovely readers. Hope you like it!

Now to reviews:

Anonny: I know right? :3 And they will soon, promise.

ASmileWithSecrets: Thank you and thank you. :D

darkhuntressxir: I know, I know. They will, I promise.

To all those too lazy to leave a review- Again, thanks for reading my story and please continue to be patient with me.

That's all for now, folks! Until next time,

Taric


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary**

What happens when Shido realizes that Ban is his mate? Does he act on his new feelings or does he just ignore Ban even more? Will they ever stop fighting? There friends can only hope. _Shido/Ban Main Pairing; Other Minor Side Pairings; Mates! Verse_

 **Characters/Pairings Main Pairing**

Shido/Ban

 **Side Pairings**

Akabane/Ginji

Kazuki/Juubei

 **Single Side Characters**

Natsumi

Paul

Hevn

Monica

 **Disclaimer**

Firstlyˌ I do not own anything pertaining to the storyline of The Get Backersˌ nor do I own any recognizable characters from the show. I only own this story and any characters I have made up for it.

Secondlyˌ if you do not like male/male pairings or any of the pairings in specificˌ I respect that but please don't read this fanfic and say mean things about it. As it is fanfictionˌ it is my personal opinions and likes and I would ask that you respect that.

Thirdlyˌ If you like this sort of thingˌ please do read and review if you wish.

Enjoy! Or not. It's entirely up to you.

* * *

Ban ran until he couldn't stand the pain in his knee anymore and plopped ungracefully into a park bench. He actually was surprised with how far he ran; he was at the nearest children's playground to the Honky Tonk. The nearest meaning almost a mile away.

"What – _huff-_ the hell – _wheeze-_ is wrong – _pant_ \- with monkey boy now?" He would've whined if he wasn't so out of breath.

Ban his head fall over the back of the bench. He was glad today happened to be a school day so there were no kids present which meant no little ears to hear him curse. Yeah he smokes and yeah his language is quite colorful, but he never smokes or curses in front of kids if he could help it. He wouldn't call himself a good guy, but he's not a bad guy either.

Ban wheezed and panted until his breathing became not so labored and his heart wasn't beating so fast. He drew in a calm inhale and let out a whine as he exhaled. His leg was still in pain and was now actually worse with the added exertion of his 'tactical retreat.'

"Damnit! Maybe I should've just stayed with the bastard. At least then my leg wouldn't hurt so God damn much!" he groaned as he threw an arm across his eyes. His ears perked when he heard a familiar jingle behind him.

"Why such colorful language so early in the morning? And at a playground no less. What if a little one heard you?" came a voice above his head.

"Go away, Kazuki. I'd normally love to talk girl with you, but not right now. I'm pissed and confused and in pain and just want to be left alone." Ban actually did enjoy Kazuki's, and by extension Juubei's, company when they decided to drop by. Right now though, he truly was pissed and he didn't want to accidently take it out on the thread user, his needle using boyfriend probably wouldn't be too happy about it.

"Ban, if you're in pain, Juubei might be able to help. Why don't you let him check out your leg and you can tell me which bastard pissed you off and what they did to make you so angry?" Why was Kazuki so good to him?

Ban let out a sigh as he lowered his arm and stared up at the smiling feminine man above him. Seeing sincerity in his eyes, Ban turned his gaze to the silent man to Kazuki's left who nodded in agreement. Even though he didn't speak much, Juubei had become just as close a friend as Kazuki has. Ginji really knew how to pick good people to be friends with. Ban should probably mention that when he decides to make his way back.

Ban let out yet another sigh before he nodded. Kazuki smiled and moved around the bench to sit on Ban's left as Juubei kneeled in front of his hurt knee after he pointed out which one it was. He turned away from the needle user, who most likely was going to stick him with one (he did not want to see it happen, thank you very much!), and started to tell the thread user what he could remember about yesterday and what had happened earlier that morning.

"I don't remember Shido ever acting that way towards anyone before. That is interesting." Kazuki looked to Juubei who nodded in confirmation.

"See? What did I say? He's acting weird!" Ban folded his arms in triumph and missed the knowing and rather conspiratorial look the other two shared before Kazuki spoke again.

"I agree, but you know, if you would just tell Shido that you liked him, then you wouldn't have to start so many fights with him to get his attention. If anything, it would save everybody else the headache."

"I know, but you know why I can't." Ban sighed out, then he started when he saw Juubei behind the other raven head. He hadn't seen him move. He did notice that he couldn't feel any pain in his knee anymore, however. "Thanks, Juubei. My knee feels a hell of a lot better. You're a miracle worker."

Juubei nodded as Kazuki asked, "And why is that, again?" with a look that was screaming false ignorance.

"First off, Monkey Boy isn't in his right mind and I'm not telling him anything when he isn't even his usual monkey self. Secondly, please don't make me explain this to you again. Didn't we go on a 'girl's day' just so I could explain why not?" Ban looked to him pleadingly. Their 'girl's day' actually took place a while ago, back before Juubei got the nerve to ask the feminine man out, and all that really took place was Kazuki had made Ban sit down with him at some restaurant or other to talk. They were only out for an hour, but Ban will forever deem the outing as a 'girl's day'

"Yes, **we** did." Kazuki motioned between Ban and himself, "but Juubei wasn't with us at the time and Shido is his friend too, I'm sure he would like to know why as well."

"Then why can't you tell him all about it?" Ban let his head fall to rest on the back of the bench once again.

"As much as I love Kazuki, Ban, I would appreciate more to hear it from your own mouth. It's less likely for facts to get confused that way." Juubei finally spoke. Ban wondered briefly if the needle user spoke more when in the privacy of his and the thread user's home, or if he was always so commutatively challenged.

"Fine!" He sat up straight and pointed a finger in the other raven head's face, "but this is the last time I'm going to talk about this, so don't ever ask again!"

"Of course, I'll never ask this of you again, Ban." Kazuki lifted his hands up in mock surrender. He stood from the bench and turned to give Juubei a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll leave the two of you to it then."

"Wha? Where are you going?" Ban lowered his hand and gave a confused look.

Kazuki just gave him an innocent smile and replied, "Well, as you've said, I've already heard your explanation and surely don't need to hear it again, so I think I'll go to the Honky Tonk. That's where we were headed anyways; we haven't spoken to Ginji for a while, it was about time for a visit." He waved his hand dismissively as he began walking to the edge of the playground. He turned back towards the other two, "I'm sure you'll meet me there when you're done talking."

Ban shook his head as he watched his friend walk away. "Whatever." He turned towards Juubei as he said, "Well, where do I begin?"

* * *

 **Author's Note**

What's up guys? Got another chapter for you.

I was hoping to get at least one more review for the last chapter before posting this one, but I started it and before I knew it, it was done, so I uploaded it.

Don't any of you worry, I will not withhold chapters if I don't get a certain number of reviews or favorites or whatever. I think the idea is stupid and downright cruel to those who do actually review once in a while.

Anyways, I'm proud of myself. I told myself, that I would get this chapter over a thousand words and I got 1149, so go me! Let's see if I can get next chapter just as long.

Before I respond to reviews, I have something to ask you all.

I want to know if any of you have a request for something you would like to see happen in this story or just a request for this pairing in general.

I have a good idea of where I would like this story to go, but am totally open to any suggestions you guys might have; I am writing this for all my lovely readers after all.

Now to the reviews:

darkhuntressxir: I didn't give too big of a hint did I? I'm so glad you pointed that out, 'cause I couldn't stop smiling after reading your review. :D

I would love to hear from all of you who haven't reviewed yet, but either way, I am happy to know you like my story and happy that people are reading it.

So until the next chapter,

Taric


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary**

What happens when Shido realizes that Ban is his mate? Does he act on his new feelings or does he just ignore Ban even more? Will they ever stop fighting? There friends can only hope. _Shido/Ban Main Pairing; Other Minor Side Pairings; Mates! Verse_

 **Characters/Pairings Main Pairing**

Shido/Ban

 **Side Pairings**

Akabane/Ginji

Kazuki/Juubei

 **Single Side Characters**

Natsumi

Paul

Hevn

Monica

 **Disclaimer**

Firstlyˌ I do not own anything pertaining to the storyline of The Get Backersˌ nor do I own any recognizable characters from the show. I only own this story and any characters I have made up for it.

Secondlyˌ if you do not like male/male pairings or any of the pairings in specificˌ I respect that but please don't read this fanfic and say mean things about it. As it is fanfictionˌ it is my personal opinions and likes and I would ask that you respect that.

Thirdlyˌ If you like this sort of thingˌ please do read and review if you wish.

Enjoy! Or not. It's entirely up to you.

* * *

"Shido-san, please calm down!" Natsumi had her hands up in a placating fashion as she stared at the outraged man. Shido merely growled at her and she squeaked in surprise, jumping slightly away from the counter.

"Shido? Are you all right?" Ginji jumped from Kazuki's head to the end of the counter in fright as he was growled at; he might have been angry with the Beast Master before, but that was when the other wasn't practically feral.

"Now Shido, there is absolutely no reason to be growling at poor Miss Natsumi, Ginji, or me for that matter. You have no need to be so territorial; Juubei is only talking with Ban and nothing more, I know that for a fact." The feminine man himself seemed completely unfazed by the outburst and was calmly drinking from his tea. He took another sip of his tea before he finally looked up to meet Shido's glare.

"Where…are…they?" Shido was trying to calm himself down, he really was. He couldn't understand why he was so angry at the thought of Juubei being alone with Ban, especially since he knows that Juubei was in a very happy relationship with Kazuki. Which the man was right, he had no reason to be so angry and frankly he shouldn't care who was with the Jagan user, but he is and he does.

"Before I tell you, I want you to swear you won't hurt Juubei when you get there." Kazuki placed his cup down to semi-glare at him and at the same time, give him an expectant look.

"Kazuki, you know I-" Shido started before he was cut off.

"I know you wouldn't in your right mind, Shido, but you're not in your right mind at the moment and I want you to swear to me that my boyfriend won't end up being hurt." The Beast Master stared at the thread user a long moment before he sighed in resignation.

"I swear I won't hurt Juubei." He almost growled at the end but was able to hold it in.

"That's all I ask. They're sitting on a bench in a playground about a mile down the road to your right." As soon as the words left his mouth, Shido was out the door, nearly bumping into Paul on his way, and running down the street. Kazuki looked towards Natsumi with a smile and asked, "May I have a refill, please?"

"Uh…Ah, of course!" Natsumi jumped a little before grabbing Kazuki's cup to begin making him more tea.

"Anyone care to explain what's up with Shido?" Paul asked as he made his way to his usual seat behind the counter, the day's paper tucked under his arm. "Also, why wasn't he wearing a shirt?"

Ginji stopped trembling behind the farthest bar stool and sat himself down in Shido's now vacant seat. "We don't know what's wrong with him, Paul. There was some banging from upstairs before Ban came running through. Shido came down a moment later, obviously after him. Natsumi calmed things down a little and he was sat here until Kazuki came in and said Juubei was with Ban. Shido lost it and started growling up a storm. Kazuki told him where they are and then he was out the door." He tried to explain. He cocked his head to the side before he turned to Natsumi. "'Why **wasn't** he wearing a shirt?"

"I think he just didn't put one on after he and Ban-san woke up, Ginji-san and don't forget the part where you almost blasted Shido-san in the head with a ball of lightning, and got the wall instead." Natsumi chimed in as she placed Kazuki's refilled cup in front of him.

Ginji turned towards the stairs and spotted the very noticeable scorch mark on the wall. He went chibi before he turned to Paul sheepishly, rubbing a hand on the back of his head. "Oh, yeah. Guess I forgot about that. He."

Paul had also turned to the stairs, staring at the mark as well. He turned to stare at Ginji before he said, "I'm adding that to your tab." Ginji automatically looked down in shame, Ban was not going to be happy about that.

Natsumi gave him an apologetic look as she gave him a glass of water; it was better to tell Boss about it then let him find it on his own.

"Hmm." Paul turned to face Kazuki, still sipping away at his tea. "You seem awfully calm about all this, do you know what's wrong with him, Kazuki?" the other two turned to face him as well.

"Yeah, Kazuki. Do you know?" Ginji was no longer chibi-fied as he gave said man a confused look.

"I don't know what is exactly wrong with our friend, but I have a very good guess." Kazuki finished his tea before he placed his cup back down on the counter. "If I remember correctly, a long while ago, Shido mentioned something about the Fuyuki clan heritage. He said that his great ancestors used to have an even greater connection to the animal kingdom."

"I remember him saying something like that, but what does greater connection mean?" Ginji couldn't remember the whole conversation, but he does remember having it back during their Volts days.

"Alongside the ability to communicate with animals and being able to mimic their attributes, the Fuyuki clan was once so in tune with animals that they themselves, like many animals, knew of and had mates."

"Mates? You mean like the animal equivalent of marriage?" Natsumi knew what mates were but had never heard the term used for humans before.

"Sort of. It's more of a 'true pair' kind of thing."

"True pair? You mean like gloves?" the Lightning Lord held his hands up in example.

"Kind of. How did Shido explain this? Umm…" Kazuki grabbed his chin in thought. "Think of it this way: the reason Shido is acting so territorial towards Ban is because Ban is Shido's 'true match' in the sense that they were made for each other. They are two halves of the same soul."

"Oh! You mean like soulmates?" Natsumi's face lit up in wonder.

"Yes, exactly. Like soulmates." The thread user nodded his head in agreement.

"How romantic!" she clasped her hands in excitement.

"Don't everybody have soul mates?" Ginji cocked his head to the side and Natsumi frowned in confusion as she lowered her hands, having not thought of that.

"I'm sure we all do. The difference with the Fuyuki clan is that they could identify who their soulmate was when everyone else could not. I think he said that when members of his clan turned 21, a bond would awaken in them and they would be drawn to their mate."

"Didn't he just turn 21 a couple of weeks ago? We threw him a party here and Ban was with us. He wasn't acting weird then." Ginji pointed out.

"Right, but we had his party the Saturday before his actual birthday because Monica wasn't going to be in the country for it and still wanted to celebrate with him."

"Oh yeah."

"I believe that is why he was here yesterday and why he has been acting so strange. Because he didn't see Ban right on his birthday or directly after it, the urge to find him had steadily grown too much to ignore. He probably told himself he was just here to visit Ginji, but he was most likely actually searching for Ban unknowingly. He'll go back to himself when Ban accepts the bond between them."

"How do you know Ban will? I thought he didn't like Shido very much?" Ginji has never heard Ban say it outright, but their always fighting so he always assumed he didn't like the other spike-head. The bell above the door jingled as the thread user answered.

"I'm quite certain he will. It's more that I hope Shido will realize the bond for what it is before he accidentally drives Ban away." Kazuki took a sip from his tea that, once again, had been refilled by Natsumi. He didn't even start when arms wrapped around him from behind and chin of his boyfriend was placed upon his head.

"I don't think that's going to be a problem." Was all Juubei said.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Hey guys!

Do you think I explained the whole Mates! Verse thing okay? I hope it makes at least a little bit of sense to you all as a concept and that Kazuki is the one explaining it. I was going to explain it all later (and have Shido actually talk about it), but the story apparently demanded I mention it in this chapter (and have Kazuki talk about it) and once I started on it, I couldn't stop. Of course I'll probably have to mention it again later when Shido explains to Ban, but I like how it turned out here, so I'm going to leave it. I also read somewhere that Shido was 21, and Ban/Ginji are 19. If I was misinformed please let me know.

Anyways. I was going to mention this earlier, but it totally spaced me when writing my author's notes: if any of the characters seem to be a little out of character, I apologize. I tried to keep them in some semblance of cannon, but the story get away from me sometimes and I like how it turns out. J

I've already gotten two requests. Yay! I hope to get more as the story progresses and don't be afraid to send requests even after this story is finished. I'd be glad to have something to do. :3

Now the reviews:

darkhuntressxir: I'm sorry I couldn't get to a blushing and flustered Ban this chapter. I was hoping to get to it, but the story ventured into explaining the mates part and I just let it flow. Forgive me? I'll try to work it in next chapter or the one after next for sure. I tend to just follow the flow, but it will happen! J

ASmileWithSecrets: I hope Ban's reasons, which I will get to next chapter, will be good enough. Also, I love your idea! I hope I'll be able to add it to the story somehow. If I can't, I'll be sure to write it as a side story. :D I'll let you know.

Thanks to all my readers who are being patient with me and I hope to hear from you all soon.

I think this is the longest Author's Note yet. I definitely feel winded after writing this; I mean if someone can feel winded typing on a keyboard. Is that really a thing?

Either way, see you all next time. Same bat time, same bat channel.

Taric


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary**

What happens when Shido realizes that Ban is his mate? Does he act on his new feelings or does he just ignore Ban even more? Will they ever stop fighting? Their friends can only hope. _Shido/Ban Main Pairing; Other Minor Side Pairings; Mates! Verse_

 **Characters/Pairings Main Pairing**

Shido/Ban

 **Side Pairings**

Akabane/Ginji

Kazuki/Juubei

 **Single Side Characters**

Natsumi

Paul

Hevn

Monica

 **Disclaimer**

Firstlyˌ I do not own anything pertaining to the storyline of The Get Backersˌ nor do I own any recognizable characters from the show. I only own this story and any characters I have made up for it.

Secondlyˌ if you do not like male/male pairings or any of the pairings in specificˌ I respect that but please don't read this fanfic and say mean things about it. As it is fanfictionˌ it is my personal opinions and likes and I would ask that you respect that.

Thirdlyˌ If you like this sort of thingˌ please do read and review if you wish.

Enjoy! Or not. It's entirely up to you.

* * *

It is said that the average person can walk a mile in about 20 minutes. It is also said that the average person can run a mile in about half that time.

Shido isn't an average person. When he left the door, he was down the street and at the playground within 5 minutes. He wasn't even winded as his eyes scanned the area for Ban. He had walked by here numerous times before, but had never really paid it too much attention. Now, though, as he looked around, he took notice of the layout.

In the center was a rather large sand box, littered with buckets and shovels. To one side was the slide, to the other was a jungle gym. There were see-saws and hobby horses. There were swings off to back a good distance from the other equipment. All around, there were benches and picnic tables for parents to sit and watch as their kids played. The area was fenced off along two sides near the road; this was most likely done as a safety measure to keep kids from the street.

Ban and Juubei were sitting on a bench, just as Kazuki had said. The bench was at the opposite end of the playground from the road he had just been running down; so they were to his right. He began to make his way around the outer edge to them. Neither had noticed he was there, though the needle user probably had and wasn't letting on to the fact. He approached the two from behind, but stopped in his tracks a little ways away when he finally heard what they were talking about.

"…so that's why I called it a 'girl's day.'" Ban had move his hands around as he explained and when he finished, he placed one over the back of the bench and with the other he grabbed for his cigarettes, groaning a little when he realized they were back at the Honky Tonk. He let he hand fall into his lap instead.

"I still don't understand why you have to refer to it as such." Juubei hadn't moved at all through the 'girl's day' explanation, but waved a hand slightly as if to wave the conversation away. "Now that you've, tried, to explain it to me, explain to me why it is you can't tell Shido that you love him."

 _Love? Ban loves me?_ Shido's face went blank. Kazuki didn't say that **this** is what they were talking about.

"Where do I start? Aside from him not being his usual Monkey Boy self." Upon hearing one of the nicknames of Ban's, that he hated (and did not secretly like hearing because that meant said man was nearby; nope not at all), Shido glared at the back of his head and was about to retort, most likely going to call him Snake Bastard, but didn't when Juubei spoke.

"Well, how long have you had feelings for him?"

"Ain't that the million dollar question?" lifting his hand to his chin, he thought a moment before he gave his reply, "I guess since the first time I met him trying to get Monica's Violin back."

 _That far back? He couldn't have loved me back then._ Shido's face changed to one of confusion. He would have noticed if the fellow spike-head liked him by now. Wouldn't he have?

"You've loved him for that long?" _See? Even Juubei doesn't believe it._ The Beast Master shook his head and was about to say something when Ban paused a moment to think. He didn't get the chance, as Ban decided to speak again.

"No, I didn't **love** him then." _I knew it. Ban doesn't love me…_ he winced as that thought made his heart clench painfully "But I did have some sort of feelings towards him." The pain eased a little and he felt slightly relieved, which confused him further.

"What kind of feelings?"

"Well, at first I hated him. He was so insufferable and for the longest time I could have sworn he thought he was better than me; that somehow I was beneath him because I couldn't talk to animals or because he had known Ginji first. I hated him for it. I hated whenever he was around because Ginji always was so happy to see him. I hated him because he never backed down from fighting with me. I hated him because he made me feel that I wasn't good enough."

The Jagan User slammed his right hand down into his left palm. "So I decided that whenever I saw him, I would try to make him fight with me, try to get him angry. At least when we fought, he acknowledged me and when we fought, Ginji paid more attention to me, even if it was to defend him. It made me feel better, knowing I could make him react no matter how much he tried to keep his cool. That he reacted because it was me pushing his buttons."

Juubei didn't say anything as Ban collected himself again. Shido didn't say anything either and just stared at him.

"Somehow, the feeling of joy I had that I could make him angry turned into a feeling of joy because he was paying attention to me. I was happier that he was speaking to me and not to Ginji. I realized that I wasn't jealous of Shido, for having more of Ginji's attention, but instead I was jealous of Ginji because he was the reason Shido ever came to visit." Ban placed his elbows upon his knees and put his head into his hands.

"It scared me for the longest time, feeling like that, 'cause I'd never felt that way before towards another guy. Thinking back now, I don't think I ever felt that way towards any girl either. I was confused and couldn't understand how I felt so I just pushed his buttons harder. I thought if he hated me, I would hate him back and these feelings would go away, but…"

"They didn't." it wasn't a question. Ban nodded, though it was rather hard for the needle user to see, as it was such a short nod.

"No. they only got stronger. I went from trying to anger him to trying to make him stay near me longer. I went from hating him to falling in love with him."

Shido's heart was soaring. He had some time to think as he listened to Ban talk and he figured out why he felt so happy. Ban is his mate. It took him this long to figure it out because he had never seen anyone in his family go through the process (he had been born after everyone else had found their mates already), and no one had really explained it to him more than that 'it's a feeling you can't fight and you'll know it when it happens.'

They were right. He can't deny or fight his feelings. He can't fight the urges to protect and care for Ban; the urge to make Ban his mate and hide him away from the world; the urge to hold Ban close and never let go. He understood now.

"So why exactly can't you tell him your true feelings?"

"I-I don't know how to talk to him without saying something to make him angry and I-I've done it so many times that he probably hates me too much now. Besides, how do I know he still doesn't have feelings for Monica? What if he doesn't like guys that way? I don't want to tell him only to be rejected. What if he completely ignores me? I don't think I could stand not getting some reaction out of him anymore." He hadn't lifted his head away from his hands so Ban's words were slightly muffled to the point it almost sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

"How could you know his reaction if you don't ever ask him?" Before yesterday, Shido knew that he would have reacted just as Ban had described; even if only at first, he still would have done it. Now, though? Now is a different story.

"Yeah Ban, how could you know?" he didn't move from his spot behind the other two, but he had to say something before Ban really did start to cry.

Ban immediately froze where he sat; it didn't even look like he was breathing he was so still. Juubei looked unfazed at Shido's appearance and just looked to Ban expectantly with a small smile on his face.

"Well now, here's your chance to tell him Ban."

* * *

 **We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Author's Note**

To give a special shout-out to my two favorite reviewers, ASmileWithSecrets and darkhuntressxir!

Thank you both so much for all of your reviews and I can say that seeing what you guys have to say about my story motivates me and makes me want to write the next chapter even more. I appreciate the never-ending patience you two possess and I hope that you keep loving my story as it progresses. I love you two! :D

 **Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Author's Note**

Hello everyone!

I have finished yet another chapter. And guess what? I already have my first one-shot for this pairing finished as well! All on the same day too. Sadly, I think the one-shot is set too far in the future that I might have to save it until this story is done.

I don't know. It was an idea that popped into my head as I was reading another story and couldn't help but to write it out. What do you guys think, should I wait until after this story to post it or just say 'to hell with it' and post it anyways? Let me know what you think!

I kind of feel like Ban was a little too out of character this chapter. If so, I apologize, but I still like how this chapter turned out and I hope everyone does too. If anything, he'll be back to sounding more like himself next chapter.

On a side note, I've been posting my whole disclaimer spiel at the top of each chapter, as you have all noticed. I think by ten chapters I've gotten my message across, so starting with the next chapter, I'm just going to dive right into each chapter. I'm sure you're all tired of reading the disclaimer by now; I know I'm tired of writing it. :3

Now to Reviews:

ASmileWithSecrets: I'm so glad that I could make your day! And it makes me so happy to hear this is one of your favorite stories! :D I hope this story lives up to your expectations, if anything, it gives me something to strive for. :) That's good to hear, I was worried that they were getting too out of character and I hope Ban didn't too OOC in this chapter.

darkhuntressxir: Thank you for your patience and I can guarantee Ban will have a serious blush next chapter. ;) I hope this chapter answered your question. If you're still confused, you can PM me and I'll try to clarify why I made Juubei say that for you.

Don't forget to let me know if anyone of you fabulous readers have a request for this pairing in or out of this story. Looking forward to your ideas!

See you all next time. Same bat time, same bat channel.

Taric


	11. Chapter 11

"Well now, here's your chance to tell him, Ban."

Juubei had known Shido was there since he first stepped foot on the playground. He had been expecting him to show up about 20 or so minutes after the thread user left. When Kazuki had kissed him before he left, he had told the needle user to 'stall as long as he could' and that's what he did. He kept asking question after question pertaining to the 'girl's day' to make sure to give his boyfriend enough time to send Shido their way.

Kazuki had actually been planning to get Ban to confess to the Beast Master for some time and just had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to set his plan into action. Today, that opportunity presented itself. After hearing what had happened earlier that morning, the two of them silently agreed, Juubei would stay with Ban and keep in place while Kazuki would go to get Shido. It was perfect and even though he doesn't talk much, he learned early on how to stall Ban. All he had to do was keep him talking.

When Shido finally showed up, he kept Ban talking until the Beast Master decided to speak up. At that point he wasn't just stalling, but was actually curious as to the Jagan User's reasons and it wasn't hard to keep him talking about it, though he was relieved when the Beast Master finally spoke.

The Needle User stood and turned to study Shido. The other had a blank stare, but his eyes were alight with emotion. When Juubei concluded that what he saw was anything but negative, he cleared his throat to get the blank stare's attention.

"I'll leave the two of you to it then." Repeating the words his Boyfriend had said, Juubei turned and walked down the street towards the Honky Tonk; leaving the others to be alone.

Shido watched Juubei leave before he walked around to sit in the now vacant spot next to Ban. He placed his hands upon the back of the bench then leaned his head up to stare at the sky. He almost jumped ban when the needle user was out of sight, but held himself back.

"You were wrong, you know." Ban hadn't known the other had moved and jumped slightly at his sudden closeness. He didn't move his head from his hands, but he did answer.

"What?"

"I don't hate you. Never did." This made Ban look up at him in disbelief.

"Wha- Of course you did. Why else did we fight so much?" his face shifted until he was giving Shido a look that was challenging him to deny it.

"Like you said, you really know how to push my buttons." Shido turned his head enough to look at the other from the corner of his eye. "You annoyed me to no end and sometimes I got so angry that I wanted to punch you, but I never hated you."

Ban's faced turned back into one of disbelief as he stared for a long while. He made the other jump a little when he stared laughing hysterically. Shido turned his face towards him fully to stare in confusion and slight concern.

"What the hell is so funny?" Ban just kept laughing. When he finally calmed down, he wiped away a stray tear as he spoke.

"I'm such an idiot."

"I could have told you that." Shido smirked when Ban lightly punched his arm.

"Oh, shut up Monkey Boy." He said playfully then leaned his head back over the bench with a smile. The Beast Master stared at him for a moment then turned his head back towards the sky, before he spoke again.

"So…"

"Yeah?"

"You love me, huh?"

Ban froze again, eyes widening, but this time a blush started to form across his face. It spread from his cheeks all the way up to his ears. He continued to stare at the sky and refused to look anywhere in the other's direction.

"Well u-um… you know me, I uh…" he mentally kicked himself. He was getting flustered and couldn't think of a way to bush this off. His blush deepened further when he could feel dark eyes trained on him. "I… um… I-I… ugh! Quit staring!"

"And why should I do that? I like watching you get all flustered." Ban shoved his head back into his hands to try and hide his ever deepening blush. It didn't work because it had spread from his ears down to his neck. He grumbled into his hands and Shido lifted a brow.

"What was that?" the Beast Master leaned in when Ban grumbled again, but still couldn't hear him. "What? I can't hear you." He was leaning so close that Ban nearly hit him when he shot up straight in his seat.

"I said, fine! I admit it!" Ban would have been mad if he wasn't so embarrassed.

"Admit what?" his blush faded slightly as he stared at the other, but then came back full force when he saw the amused look he was getting.

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Shido was giving him an innocent look, but he knew it was fake.

"You really are an asshole, you know that?"

"And you're an idiot. You still haven't answered my question." He sighed and let his arms fall down to rest at his sides. His blush receded to a light pink instead of the deep red it was before. He turned his head and looked straight into Shido's eyes.

"I love you. There! I said it. Happy now?" Ban began moving around to face away from the Beast Master and jumped when his arm was grabbed. He was turned back around and pulled forward, nearly into the others lap. He 'eep'ed and placed a hand upon the thigh closest to him to keep himself up right. He looked up and was going to ask Shido, 'what the hell?' but the words died on his tongue when he saw the look Shido was giving him.

"That's all I needed to hear." Ban's blush deepened as red as, and spread as far as it could possibly go as Shido drew him close and pressed their lips together.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Another chapter done!

I actually had this chapter mostly done when I posted chapter 10, but I got super busy and couldn't find the time to really finish and upload it until now. Otherwise it would have been posted the same day or the day after I posted the last one. If anything, it gave you all time to read chapter 10 and review if you wanted, so I guess it all worked out, huh?

You should all be excited because in the next chapter I can see a forecast of a possible make-out session between our two favorite spike-heads! ;3

I'm still indecisive about posting the one-shot I have in my archives (which isn't very big at this point). Should I post it or save it for later? I would love to see what you all think.

Now the review:

darkhuntressxir: I hope the flustered, blushing Ban in this chapter was to your liking? :3 I love insecurities too, it makes some characters all the more cute. Also, since I'm a girl, I would love some virtual flowers. :D

I think that's all for now.

TTFN

Taric


	12. Chapter 12

For the third time today, Ban became frozen in place.

His tensed considerably, hands clenching into fists on top of faded denim, and his eyes opened wide. His first instinct was to punch Shido in the face and take off running again. He hasn't had very good experiences with kissing in the past and his mind started reeling as it tried to decide how his body should respond.

Shido, for his part, did nothing more than keep their lips pressed together, waiting patiently for Ban to knock himself from his daze. Admittedly, he was expecting Ban to react in the negative and he was mentally preparing himself for a punch to the face, or worse, some form of harm to his manhood. He was desperately hoping for the former if it came to it. It was a tense, few moments later that Ban finally reacted, coming to a decision.

He unclenched his fists and pushed himself away from the Beast Master. He internally chuckled when he noticed the slight wince flash across the other's face. He stood from the bench and caught the dip of rejection to Shido's shoulders.

He couldn't hold in the giggle that left his lips when Shido snapped up in surprise when Ban sat back down, this time literally in his lap. He didn't actually fully sit and more like hovered over Shido's thighs, resting his arms on either side of his head.

Shido's hands had automatically caught Ban's hips as he sat, either to make sure he didn't fall off or make sure he didn't try to run; it was probably more the latter than the former in this case. He didn't move them and just let them loosely rest upon the covered skin. He tilted his head to the left in silent question.

Ban didn't speak as he buried his hands in the Beast Master's hair, drawing him close and pressing their lips back together. Shido moaned at the contact, tightening his grip so he could pull Ban flush against his chest. One hand moved upward to rest over the Jagan User's lower back and the other went downward to squeeze the flesh of his ass.

Ban's mouth opened in a gasp and Shido slid his tongue between soft lips. He didn't do much more than lick the front of Ban's teeth, still cautious and not wanting his tongue bitten off. He did growl in appreciation when he felt Ban open his mouth wider and hesitantly prodded with his own tongue. At his obvious acceptance, Shido delved into the wet cavern and they both moaned deeply; neither could believe anyone could taste so good.

His hand left Ban's ass and grasped the back of his head, moving it around to a better angle and to gain some leverage as they swirled their tongues together in a fight for dominance. Eventually, Ban happily lost and let Shido take control. It gave him the perfect opportunity to explore the firm and well-muscled expanse of chest in front of him.

He kept one hand firmly clasped in spikey locks, but let the other trace the outlines of Shido's collarbone; following the curve between his pecks to feel and trace the prominent six-pack of his abdomen. He traced his way back up as Shido growled in pleasure, letting his hand slip from Ban's lower back, to rest back on his ass. Ban was greatly enjoying the feel of the vibrations through his too warm shirt and in his own chest; later on, he could swear **he** was growling as well. Either way, not one of Ban's fantasies had ever come close to how good it actually felt to be touching Shido this way.

When their lungs just started to burn from the lack of oxygen, they broke apart, a string of saliva still connecting them and Ban let a soft whine at the loss of contact. Shido chuckled at him lightly, but nearly choked out a whimper when Ban let his full weight finally settle in his lap; unknowingly brushing a certain excited part of the Beast Master's anatomy in the process.

"That… that was…" Ban was panting so hard that it was rather hard to speak.

"I know." Shido smiled at him, actually smiled at him. And not just a small one either, no this was a full blown, teeth fully bared, check splitting smile. If he couldn't still feel his heart trying to pound its way out of his chest, Ban would have sworn it stopped. He stared dumbfounded at Shido's mouth for a good, long moment. He knocked himself out of his daze when he flexed his hand and felt firm skin.

Ban looked down and saw his left hand was splayed across Shido's left pectoral, his other still buried deep in the other's spikey locks. He started turning red as his mind started working again, realizing what he had initiated; too preoccupied before to be embarrassed by his actions.

"I…um…uh…" he turned scarlet red when Shido started laughing.

Ban couldn't decide whether he should be furious or concerned for the Beast Master's sanity. He settled for just crossing his arms over his chest, blush going deeper and a squeak falling from his lips, when Shido's hand unconsciously squeezed his left cheek to try and stabilize himself. He glared at the other and waited for him to finish laughing.

"Heh…You know what?" He finally said breathlessly.

"What?" Ban's anger, and some of his blush, melted away as his curiosity grew.

"I didn't realize it until now, but for the longest time…" he paused to remove his hands from Ban's hair and ass, to move them to hold either side of his jaw, letting one of his thumbs run over slightly, kissed-bruised lips.

"Y-Yeah?" Ban raised his own hands to rest upon Shido's, blush slowly reappearing.

"Even back before my 21st Birthday, I've had this powerful longing to be near you…" he leaned forward and softly kissed Ban's forehead. "…to talk to you…" he kissed his right eye. "…to have your complete attention…" then his left.

"R-Really?"

"Yes, and every time you were near I would get the strongest urge to touch you…" He kissed Ban's nose. "…to hold you close…" his right cheek. "…to never let you go…" then his left. "…to kiss you so hard you wouldn't be able to think."

He pressed their lips together. This time, the kiss was nothing more than the touching of lips. It wasn't demanding or rough, but it still left Ban panting when it was over.

"Now I definitely need to thank Kazuki for our girl talks." Ban breathed out when they pulled apart for a second time.

Shido busted out laughing; he didn't know what Ban was talking about, but he was right about one thing: Kazuki **and** Juubei really deserved their thanks.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Woo! My first ever attempt at a full blown make-out session! :D

Admittedly, this is actually the second time I've written a kissing scene between these two, but I'm going to count this one as the first because this is a whole chapter long while the other is only one paragraph. So, uh, there! :3 Taric math for you!

Anyways! It actually took me a couple of rewrites to make it flow in a way that I liked, and I want to know what you guys think. Did I use too many words? Is there something I could change to make it sound better? Were you all fanning yourselves as you read like I did while I was writing it? :3 I'd love some pointers!

I actually want to explain something real quick. Towards the end I have Shido say he's urges to kiss Ban for a long time, even though a couple of chapters ago, I made it sort of sound like he didn't like him. Both can be considered true; Shido didn't get along with Ban too well, but was always unconsciously drawn to the other spike head. How I picture it, Shido's body and instincts had always known Ban was his mate, but his mind hadn't figured it out before. And because he couldn't understand what his instinct already knew, he blamed Ban for causing his confusion and disliked him because of it. As well, Ban always picked fights with him, trying to cope with his own feelings, so Shido already sort of disliked him for it. :o

Does any of that make sense?

I probably just wasted time unnecessarily explaining it in my note when you all most likely already got it, but oh well. I just really wanted to make sure I mentioned it.

Anyhoo! I've decided that I will be posting my one-shot, which I have named Crying Onions. Now that Shido and Ban have accepted being mates (for the most part, they still need to fully complete the bond. Wink, wink. ;3), the story line of CO isn't too ahead of TABH, so it won't lead to too much confusion, I hope. Also, one half of my favorite reviewing duo said they wanted to read it, and it's been finished so long that I can't say no.

That said, to the reviews!

ASmileWithSecrets: I totally agree with you. I hadn't actually planned on it, the story just kind of went there, but glad you liked it! I hope how they made-up was what you were expecting. :3 I should have it posted once I've finished its Author's Note, so don't forget to look for it. :)

darkhuntressxir: I couldn't stop giggling like crazy as I wrote about it. :D Thank you for the lovely flowers! I hope it was what you were hoping for! :)

I actually had a momentary freak-out while I was typing this chapter. I opened the document and was typing away when I realized that the letter 'p' was missing from every word containing it, which is surprisingly a lot. I kept pressing the key, but nothing would happen. I nearly cried at the thought that my keyboard was breaking, even though I haven't even had my laptop for a year! One of my brothers suggested restarting my computer and I jumped for joy when it worked and the letter 'p' was back at my disposal. I don't think I would have been able to finish this chapter if I had to type without it. just in this chapter alone, there ended up being over 130 words containing a 'p' somewhere, so thank you bro for you off-handed wisdom!

As a personal achievement, I have set a new Author's Note, word-count record! Over 600 words baby! I actually feel kind of bad that it got this long, but at least it's at the end of the chapter and not the beginning, right?

Now, if you all will excuse me, I have a shower of flowers to find virtual vases for.

So, TTFN.

Taric


	13. Chapter 13

Shido calmed down a few minutes later. His shoulders still shook lightly, but he was otherwise quiet. Ban smiled at him and let his hands caress the Beast Master's sides as he let him have his fun. His brow lifted slightly when a thought occurred to him.

"Shido?"

"Hmm?" Shido wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, and Ban smirked in triumph as he made him squirm a little; he was lightly tracing the Beast Master's , apparently ticklish, side. He definitely needed to use this information to his advantage later.

"Why don't you have a shirt on?" He really wasn't complaining, loving the view as he was, but his mind kept telling him someone was staring at them and he was starting to feel rather territorial of all the skin and muscle Shido had on display. Said man didn't seem to even care he was literally half naked and just shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly.

"I guess I never put one on."

"Why?" Ban tilted his head to the side, letting his hands fall to his own sides. Shido thought a moment before he began smirking at him mischievously.

"Why would I want to get dressed if I could chase your fine ass instead?" He emphasized his point by grabbing said ass and squeezing hard. Ban smacked his shoulder in mock anger.

"Pervert."

Shido used the leverage he had on Ban's rear to pull him forward. He whispered, "Yeah, but I'm your pervert…" into Ban's ear before he nibbled his earlobe. A blush crept onto his face and he huffed as he pulled his head away.

Shido smirked at him again, clenching his hands, and relishing in the deeper hue of red the cheeks, not in his grasp, got. Ban buried his head into the left side of his neck and the Beast Master gasped when he felt a wet tongue lick at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. Ban smiled and nibbled the spot in revenge, making Shido moan out.

"Now you're not playing fair."

"Says the one with his hands on my ass. You want to be called the kettle or the pot?"

"Touché."

They both snickered and Ban gave his neck one final lick before he leaned back. He paused when he spotted the red above Shido's left brow. _I had completely forgotten about this…_ He raised his right hand and grasped Shido's jaw, using his left to move the other's spikey locks out of the way. He was staring at the scabbed-over wound in such concentration that he nearly missed Shido's concerned question.

"What is it?"

"You have a cut above your left eyebrow…"

"Really?" Shido raised his own hand and rubbed a finger over the cut just a little too hard. He winced at the sharp pain and Ban lightly smacked his hand away.

"Don't do that." He tickled Shido's side softly in punishment and as he squirmed, he completely about the pain. "Do you remember how you got it? I know you didn't have it yesterday before I fainted and you didn't get it after we woke up because you were still sleeping when I noticed it the first time."

"Hmm…" Shido's hands moved to rest on Ban's hips as he thought about it. "Actually, I can't remember much of what happened after you went down and I caught you."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He lifted his hand again and Ban glared a little in warning, thinking he was going to rub his cut again, but he stopped when Shido merely wanted to scratch his head in thought. "I think I know why my memory is fuzzy."

He made eye contact and Ban gave him a 'go on' look.

"Well, when you went down, I think my instincts took over and my mind went blank. That usually happens when I'm either extremely worried or angry. My guess? I was probably extremely angry at Dr. Jackal for causing you to faint."

"So you think he cut you?"

"Most likely."

"That bastard." Now Ban was angry. He crossed his arms and glared at some dot over Shido's right shoulder. "Next time I see him, I'm going to punch him in the face."

"He probably deserves more than that." Shido chuckled out.

"You're right. I should kick him the balls too for perving on Ginji." He nodded as if agreeing with himself. Shido just shook his head amusedly, but perked at the mention of Ginji.

"Hey you think Ginji knows what happened?"

"What?" Ban uncrossed his arms, his anger vanishing instantly.

"Maybe Ginji could tell us what happened after you fainted. He and Paul were both there when it happened weren't they?"

"You're right. They were there. I passed Ginji this morning, so he should still be at the Honkey Tonk." Ban had his head tilted in thought. Shido winced at the thought of this morning.

"What?"

"I nearly forgot that Ginji almost fried my head off this morning."

"What?!" Ban's eyes widened in shock. He instantly grabbed Shido's head and started shifting this way and that looking for singed hair or something. When he was satisfied there were none, he released his hold. "Why would he fire at you? You're one of his greatest friends."

"He's like an overprotective mother when it comes to you. He saw you running away and probably thought I was perving out on **you** , and he reacted by shooting a ball of electricity at my head as I was chasing you. Apparently his 'child' is more important than his friends."

"That actually makes a lot of sense."

"Natsumi actually called him off before he could fire again. I'm sure Paul's not too happy about the singed crater in the wall."

"I bet he's going to add it to our tab…"

"Most likely."

They sat in momentary silence before Ban hopped up off of Shido's lap. He straightened his clothes the best he could before turning to stare at Shido expectantly. He huffed in impatience when he didn't move and just stared at him.

"Well, come on Monkey Boy, we need to go talk to Ginji."

"Now?" Ban rolled his eye exasperatedly.

"Yes now. We've been here for quite a while. I'm sure school's almost out and since this **is** a children's playground, I don't want to be here when they show up, so move your ass." He crossed his arms and gave him a 'duh' kind of look.

"Alright, alright, I'm moving." He stood up and stretched a little. Ban watched and he gave a mischievous smirk as he leaned towards him. He moved his mouth so it was next to Shido's ear so he could whisper into it.

"Besides, I don't want any single moms staring at you." He leaned away and walked past, smacking Shido on the rear "Your ass is mine and I don't want anyone getting any ideas."

Shido blushed softly. He turned around and his eyes trained themselves onto Ban's back end, which he was swaying suggestively on purpose. He knocked himself out of his stupor and began running after, the surprisingly fast walking, Jagan User.

"Hey wait up!"

 **Author's Note**

There you have it, lucky chapter 13 is done! And without any incidents.

* _Doesn't notice the virtual flower vase sitting precariously on the shelf above.*_

Anyways! I totally forgot which eyebrow of Shido's had the cut above and had to go searching the previous chapters for it. I had to do the same thing when I mentioned Ban's hurt knee again as well. My memory is apparently not the greatest! :D But that's why I keep every chapter file archived.

Now to switch gears completely, can you believe I wrote this chapter in only 2 hours? It usually takes me a whole day to write and edit and just rewrite and then edit again. Well…as long as my life doesn't get in the way. Then it takes a week at least to write a chapter. * _shrug_ *

As I mentioned last chapter, I have posted my one-shot _Crying Onions,_ so be sure to go check it out as well! :)

I really don't have much else to say, so Reviews!

ASmileWithSecrets: I know, right?! :3 I'm so glad you liked it. I was so worried it didn't turn out as well as I thought it did, but you shoved those worries out the window and down 7 stories. :D I thought it was a nice touch as well and I can't wait either. I promise they will have some fun before the story is over. :3 I really could have ended it there, but it never crossed my mind to do so. I'm expecting at least five more chapters before this thing is over and don't worry, I won't end it without warning. I couldn't stop giggling when I read your review for this chapter and for the one-shot. Glad you liked it, by the way. :D

That's all for now!

TTFN

Taric


	14. Chapter 14

_"I don't think that's going a problem."_

Everyone turned to look at Juubei in confusion; except for Kazuki of course.

"Why do you say that, Juubei?" Ginji leaned himself on the counter and swerved his torso slightly so he could be some semblance of face-to-face with the needle user.

"Shido heard Ban confessing his feelings and I watched the two of them, from afar, just long enough to see them kiss. So I'm positive Ban will accept the bond and Shido has not driven him away, yet." Juubei shrugged and maneuvered himself into the vacant seat next to Kazuki, not once letting go of the feminine man's waist.

"You saw them kissing?" Natsumi asked as she set a fresh cup of tea in front of each lovebird, a light blush upon her face as she pictured the sight.

"Technically they were making out…" he reached into a back pocket and produced his phone. He flipped it open and clicked a couple of buttons before turning it to her.

She gasped as she studied the picture. Juubei had been standing behind and slightly to the left of where Ban and Shido were sitting on a park bench. They were obviously preoccupied, Ban sitting in Shido's lap and arms wrapped everywhere. She blushed deeper and turned to stare at the needle user with shocked open eyes.

"You must send that to me." she said after a moment.

"I didn't know you were a fangirl, Natsumi." Kazuki chuckled as he grabbed Juubei's phone to study the picture himself.

"Says the fangirl that asked me to get the picture in the first place." Juubei pointed out and Kazuki waved a hand dismissively.

"I never claimed I wasn't." he chimed as he pushed a few buttons, a jingle sounding in Natsumi's pocket and then a buzz of vibration coming from his own.

Natsumi instantly pulled out her phone and nearly squealed in delight when she saved the picture to her gallery. Then she paused and looked towards Kazuki confused.

"How do you know my phone number, Kazuki-san? I don't remember giving it to you…"

"I got it from Paul." Another dismissive wave. Natsumi turned to her boss and he just shrugged, unconcerned. She huffed and shook her head with a smile, letting it go. She tended to not question her boss's actions anymore.

Ginji had been staring at Juubei than Kazuki in blank shock the entire time. When words finally found their way back to him, he sputtered out in embarrassment.

"Kazuki! Why would you want a picture of them k-kissing?" he asked in a near whine.

"Hmm?" Kazuki paused in his button pushing, now using his own phone having handed Juubei's back to him, and turned to the blonde. "Two reasons: 1) I wanted proof that Ban confessed and wanted to see Shido's reaction, and 2) now I can embarrass them both by giving them this picture as a gift later."

"That's a wonderful idea!" Natsumi did squeal this time.

"You really must be a girl, Kazuki, if you could think of something so devious." Paul commented from behind his newspaper. Kazuki smiled and nodded agreeing.

"One would think…"

"I'm glad it's just a thought." Juubei said, tightening his grip briefly.

"Don't worry Juubei. Either way, you are the only guy for me." Kazuki reached a hand up, grabbing the side of the needle user's head so he could place a quick peck to his cheek.

Ginji smiled at their antics, resting his chin upon his hand and leaned against the counter. He sighed in thought as he stared at nothing in particular.

"When do you think they'll be back?" he wondered after a moment.

"They should be back soon, school's just about over for the day so that playground is going to get quite busy." Kazuki answered. He took a sip of tea and paused, tilting his head towards the door. "Ah, speak of the devil."

Before anyone could say anything else, the bell above the door jingled as it was opened and in stepped the two spike-heads. Ban directed a smile at Ginji before he spoke.

"Ginji! We got something to ask you!"

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Hey guys, sorry this chapter is on the short side. I promise the next will be back to the normal 1,000 word length. :)

I always figured Natsumi for a fangirl and Yaoi fan. :3 Also, out of the two of them, I like to think that Kazuki would be the more technology prone, not Juubei. But those are just my opinions. As well, I think the giving of the make-out photo will make for a great one-shot in the future if I have the time to write it.

Anyways, to reviews!

darkhuntressxir: Chapter 12 – I know, right? And I'm glad it didn't come to that. :) Chapter 13 – I understand completely! That happens to me all the time. I hope to add more Ban teasing Shido in future chapter/stories. :3

That's all for now!

TTFN

Taric


	15. Chapter 15

"Ban!" Ginji jumped from his seat excitedly. He ran over and attached himself to the Jagan User's head, chibi-fied of course. "You were gone so long I thought something had happened! Shido didn't hurt you did he?" he turned a chibi glare on the Beast Master who lifted his hands in surrender.

"I'm fine Ginji. Really." Ban lifted his own hand to pat chibi-Ginji on the head. "You can get off now."

Ginji jumped down and reclaimed the stool he had previously vacated. Ban poked Juubei on the shoulder, still attached to Kazuki as he was, to get his attention. He looked over his shoulder and eyed him knowingly. Ban blushed and cleared his throat, Natsumi cooing at him as he did, but he just ignored her.

"I don't suppose you would relinquish your hold on thread boy for a moment?" he was refusing to make eye contact with anyone, knowing very well they all most likely knew what had happened between him and Shido.

Juubei nodded and leaned away. Kazuki turned around in his seat and tilted his head at him with a questioning smile. "What can I do for you Ban?"

"Can you stand up for a minute?" Kazuki confusedly nodded and stood. He gasped when Ban instantly wrapped his arms around the feminine man's shoulder and squeezed him in a hug.

"You are the best girlfriend I have ever had." Ban merely stated and Kazuki stared blankly for a moment before he hugged back laughing in amusement, Ban joining in and their boyfriends smiling at them fondly. Natsumi and Ginji eyed the pair in utter confusion, silently asking the other if they knew the obviously inside joke. Paul just ignored everyone in general and kept on reading his paper.

They pulled apart a few moments later, still laughing but it had receded to a minor chuckle. Kazuki sat back down upon his stool, Juubei instantly placing his arms back around him, and grabbed his tea cup to take another sip.

"I don't get what's going on…" Ginji eventually said and Ban just laughed again before he made his way to the stairs leading to their apartment, patting him on the head as he did.

"Don't worry about it, Ginji, I'll explain it to you later."

"Oookaaay…" he watched in even more confusion as Ban ascended the steps. He was going to follow him but stopped to glance at Shido as he spoke.

"Besides, we need **you** to explain something to us first."

"What is it?" Ginji crossed his arms and legs, tilting his head once again. He looked over his shoulder as Ban came back down the stairs.

"Neither of us know what happened yesterday after I fainted." He had a black tank in one hand. Shido walked over and took it from him to put it on. It was rather snug, but not uncomfortably so. They may be nearly the same height, but Shido had a slightly bigger frame and much more visible muscle. So the tank that usually hung from Ban, perfectly fit Shido.

It still didn't leave mush to the imagination, but at least Ban's, yes Ban's, expanse of muscle was not on display for all to see, except for those biceps anyways. He nodded once and then sat himself down on one side of a booth. Shido followed and sat across from him.

"Natsumi?" he called.

"Huh? Oh! Um, yes Shido-san?" she had been staring at the picture on her phone and deeply blushed as she made her way over to them. She refused to make eye contact with either as she approached. "Would you like me to get you something?"

"I'd love another cup of coffee, please. Ban?" Shido raised a brow at him.

"Hmm? Tea's fine, thanks." Natsumi glanced behind her at Paul and he just waved dismissively at her. She smiled and nodded to Shido.

"Coming right up!" she walked back over to the counter and started preparing their glasses. Ginji just stared in shock.

"Why does Ban get to have tea and I'm stuck with water?" he whined out.

"Because Shido is the one who ordered and he pays his tab." Paul offhandedly mentioned. Ginji whined again and Kazuki placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll buy you a cup. Natsumi? Please get Ginji some tea as well if it's not too much trouble." Kazuki requested.

"No trouble at all! I'll get right on it." she declared, grabbing another cup and setting it upon the counter. Ginji cheered in delight and jumped from his seat, arms in the air triumphantly. Kazuki chuckled and Ban shook his head fondly.

"Now that the tea issue has been settled…" Ban gave Ginji an imploring look. "Can someone please explain what happened yesterday?"

"Oh yeah! Sorry…" Ginji rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, when your lights went out, Shido caught you before you could hit the floor."

"We already know that."

"I was getting to it!" he huffed, a little mad at the interruption. " **After** Shido caught you, I tried to get closer to see if you were alright and Shido swung at me. He almost clawed my face off if Akabane hadn't stopped him. Which completely pissed Shido off, so he wrenched his arm free and set you, Ban, down in the exact same spot you're sitting now." He pointed to further his point. Ban glanced down at his seat before looking back towards the blonde, taking a sip of his tea and gesturing with his hand for Ginji to continue.

"I think Shido was using his Beast Mimicry, because he had huge claws and fangs and I think his ears got all pointy, and he lunged at Akabane's throat."

"Sounds like Monkey Boy to me." Ban smirked and nudged Shido's leg with his foot. Shido half-heartedly glared and nudged back.

"Sounds like you were a damsel in distress to me." Ban's smirk instantly faded and a blush spread across his cheeks. The Beast Master let out a pained groan when Ban actually kicked him this time. And again. And again. And was stopped on his fourth attempt when Shido pinned both of his legs with his calves. "Okay, okay. I take it back!"

The other occupants shared a laugh at their antics and Ban fumed in humiliation. He crossed his arms and refused to look at anybody.

"Anyways…!" he nearly shouted. "What happened next Ginji? Did Shido get to rip out his throat?" now it was Ginji's turn to glare.

"He did not! What happened was…"

* * *

 **Author's Note**

A cliff hanger! Dun dun dun!

Ain't I a stinker? :3

Don't worry, I promise as epic a fight scene as I can write in the next chapter. The whole chapter is going to be like a flashback kind of thing, and for those of you who can't remember all the way back to the end of chapter four (like me), I'll have the last line as the first sentence.

I'm sure some of you have been wondering about how the fight between Shido and Akabane went down, how Shido got the cut above his eyebrow, and how the Honky Tonk seemed to have not sustained any damages during the fight. To be honest, I was actually planning to have the fight as chapter five, but had no clue how to write it so it was postponed to give me time to research about (more like read other fanfiction containing) fight scenes so I could have a better chance of writing one. It might take me some time to finish, so I can't guarantee a speedy update.

I thank you in advance for your (surprisingly huge amount of) patience.

Another announcement: I am currently in the process of coming up with prompt ideas for this couple that I can venture into when I have finished with this story. One of which is the idea of drabbles specific to words starting with each letter of the alphabet. If anyone has any suggestions of specific words they would like me to try, please let me know! I would love the help! :D

Otherwise, to reviews!

ASmileWithSecrets: It's hard not to, right? I'm glad you feel the same. :) I'm thinking along the lines of a Christmas gift. What do you think? :3 I totally agree! I hope Ginji's reaction was at least some semblance of what you were thinking. :)

Darkhuntressxir: He is definitely the initiator. :D

That's it for now.

TTFN

Taric


	16. Chapter 16

_With claws out and teeth bared, Shido charged at Akabane, aiming for the man's throat._

 _"Look out!" Ginji shouted in fear-laced warning. A warning for who, he wasn't sure._

 _Before Shido could actually, tear Akabane's throat out, the Dr. made a quick side-step to the right, jumping backwards out of range. He straightened himself, reaching a hand up to tilt his hat back into place as he did._

 _"Now, now Mr. Fuyuki, there is no need for you to attack me either. We…" he grabbed Ginji and pulled him closer. "…have absolutely no intention to harm Ban-san."_

 _A growl is all Shido gave in return. He crouched down, readying himself for another attack. Akabane lifted a brow and sighed._

 _"It seems he does not understand me. Ginji-kun?"_

 _"Huh?" the blonde turned to look up at him, still confused and wary._

 _"Would you allow me to hit your friend there with one of my scalpels?"_

 _"Wh-What do you mean?" Ginji gained a look of concern. "You're not going to hurt Shido, are you?"_

 _"It is not my intention, for now, but I will if it becomes unavoidable."_

 _"Then what do you plan to do with the things?" Paul spoke up. He lifted his hands in surrender when Shido turned his angry growl and glare on him._

 _Akabane just gave a smirk in answer. He pushed Ginji to stand behind the counter and readied two of his instruments, one by the handle in his right hand and one by the blade in his left. He cleared his throat to gain Shido's furious attention again._

 _Shido jumped towards Dr. Jackal once more, claws raised and aimed, again, for the throat. Akabane threw the scalpel in his right hand at Shido's head who instantly dodged out of the way; he hadn't been quite fast enough and he now had a cut above his left eye. The blade imbedded itself in the wood of the door as Shido landed on the counter, still in a crouch, and knocked over a glass filled with tea. Ginji meep-ed and ducked down out of sight and Paul nearly gave a shout of protest at the mess he now had to clean._

 _Akabane must have predicted the reaction and used the new opening to move passed the Beast Master, expertly tossing the remaining scalpel towards the back of Shido's neck. The handle contacted with precise force, stunning the angry man. Shido faltered, his hand slipped in the tea and fell off the counter to land in front of it. The blow from the scalpel had knocked him out, so he made no sound as he met the wood floor._

 _"Is he alright?" Ginji asked as he peeked out from behind the corner of the counter, studying his motionless friend._

 _"He is quite alright, Ginji-kun." Akabane answered, once again straightening. "I merely hit the pressure point at the back of his neck. He is just unconscious, though he will most likely feel sore when he awakes, falling from the counter like he did."_

 _"Oh. That's good, I guess." Ginji stood and scratched the back of his neck. "Why do you think he acted like that?"_

 _"I don't know, but you better get your boyfriend out of here before he wakes up." Paul suggested as he grabbed a cloth to start wiping up the counter._

 _"A very wise idea." Akabane nodded. He retrieved the scalpel within the door and the ones in the wall opposite, the ones he used to break up the fight. "Though, before I depart…" He turned to Ginji. "Ginji-kun, would you accept my help in moving your friends upstairs?"_

 _"Huh? Oh! Yes, of course…" The blonde turned to stare at each of his friends indecisively. "How?"_

 _"I'll carry Mr. Fuyuki and you can carry Ban-san." Akabane offered, already leaning down to grab Shido by an arm._

 _"Great idea!" Ginji moved towards Ban, still unconscious in the booth Shido had left him in, he grabbed Ban under both arms and lifted him over his left shoulder._

 _Akabane had Shido's right arm over his shoulders, his left had a frim hold on the Beast Master's belt. He half dragged him towards the stairs, ascending first. Ginji followed him, trying not to hit the wall or door frame with Ban's head._

 _"Which bed belongs to you, Ginji-kun?" Akabane asked as he reached the top step._

 _"The one that's to the right of the door." Ginji answered with a grunt, trying to keep Ban from falling off his shoulder._

 _Instead of moving towards Ginji's bed with his load, Akabane shifted left and laid Shido down upon Ban's bed after moving the covers out of the way. Ginji moved into the room and his brows went up in confusion._

 _"Why did you put Shido there? I thought you were putting him on my bed."_

 _"Two reasons Ginji-kun. One, I would rather not have anyone besides myself in your bed." Ginji went red. "And two, if Mr. Fuyuki here wakes up first, I don't think you want him tearing up your bed when he doesn't find Ban-san next to him."_

 _"Good point." Ginji walked over and, with Akabane's help, maneuvered Ban from his shoulder and onto the bed next to Shido. They covered the unconscious couple with Ban's blanket. Akabane handed over a tissue and Ginji dabbed at the cut above the Beast Master's eye; after starring at the jackal in confusion for a good few minutes, of course._

"Then we left to come back down here." Ginji finished, crossing his arms with a smile.

Shido and Ban shared a glance before Ban turned to Ginji in all seriousness.

"So… You carried me up the stairs like a sack of potatoes?"

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Hey guys!

I know, I know… I left you guys hanging for three months now and I feel really bad for leaving you guys hanging for this long after my semi-regular updates. You guys can blame it all on my classes and all the schoolwork I must do for each. My English class is the worst of 'em so blame that one the most. :)

Anyways!

What do you guys think? The fight wasn't too simple, was it? (Especially with how long it took me to actually write the thing.) I didn't want to make the fight drawn out because the longer the fight, the harder to keep the Honky Tonk in one piece without some form of magic involved. :3

Just to warn y'all, the next two chapters will most likely be the last for this fic. If anyone has any ideas for a direction this story might take, I would love to hear about it and I might be able to add a few chapters more if I can. If not, then expect chapter 18 to be the last.

Now the reviews of last chapter:

darkhuntressxir – For the first part: :3 And for the second: Definitely. :D

Thank you guys, again, for all your patience and I hope to hear from you soon!

TTFN

Taric


	17. Chapter 17

The sun peaked through the cracks between the curtains. It stretched across the floor and climbed the side of the bed to rest upon Ban's face. He groaned in his sleep before he scrunched his nose at the unwelcomed light. He rolled over and pulled the blanket closer to his head to try and shield his eyes.

 _Beep-Beep! Beep-Beep!_

"Nng…" Ban groaned again as he cracked an eye open. He rolled back over and glared menacingly at the innocent alarm clock. He moved his eyes to glare at the bed opposite him and groaned a third time when he found Ginji's overly fuzzy blankets empty.

 _Beep-Beep! Beep-Beep!_

"Alright, alright." Ban lifted the blankets away and sat up. He rubbed his right eye absently and scratched the back of his head. He let out a drawn-out yawn before huffing and swinging his legs off the mattress.

 _Beep-Beep! Beep-Beep!_

"I'm up, I'm up." He pushed himself up and off the bed, hissing when his feet touched the cold wood floor. He stretched his arms above his head, arching his back, until he felt the satisfying pop of his spine. He let out a content sigh and immediately eep-ed afterwards when a pair of arms snaked around his middle and pulled him back down on the bed.

 _Beep-Beep! Beep-Beep!_

He was manhandled a bit until he was pressed snuggly to a warm chest; a nose buried and breathing deeply into his dark locks. Ban instantly snuggled close to the warmth and sighed contentedly.

"Why'd you get out of bed?" Shido murmured tiredly.

 _Beep-Beep! Beep-Beep!_

Ban groaned once again. "To turn that damn alarm off."

"Mmm."

Ban patted Shido's shoulder. "Come on. Let me up."

"Don't want to."

 _Beep-Beep! Beep-Beep!_

"Quit being a child and let me up." Ban nudged him this time. "The sooner you let me up, the sooner I can turn that annoying thing off and the sooner I can come back to bed."

"Fine." Shido released his iron grip and lifted his arm away. "You'll come right back, right?" Ban chuckled amusedly and leaned over to kiss Shido's cheek.

"I promise." He slipped back out of bed as Shido let out a responding sigh, wrapping himself back up in the blankets. Ban shook his head as he walked over to the alarm clock.

 _Beep-Beep! Be-_ He slammed his hand down on the snooze and sighed triumphantly. He switched it off and walked towards the door, not back to the bed. The clock had said 9:26 and Ban knew if Shido had his way, they wouldn't get out of bed until noon at the earliest. So, Ban knew he better go downstairs to use the bathroom now.

He grabbed his phone from the kitchen counter before he left the apartment.

 **Where are you?** He sent the text to Ginji as he made it to the bottom of the stairs. He got a reply as he washed his hands. He wiped them off then opened the text.

 **Went 2 Akabane's. B back later** ** _. ~_**

"Figures." Ban jumped when his phone started ringing and buzzing in his hand. "Hello?"

" _Good morning, Ban."_

"Oh, hey Kazuki. How are you?" Ban left the bathroom and sat at one of the counter stools. Luckily, Paul doesn't open the café until 10:30 on weekends, so he won't be disturbed.

 _"I'm doing well. How are you and Shido?"_

"I'm good. Shido's being lazy and still sleeping upstairs."

 _"The same could be said for Juubei."_ Ban chuckled a moment.

"So, what's up?"

 _"I was wondering if you want to have a girl's day today. It's been nearly two weeks since… what have you started calling it? The Park Incident?"_

"Yep." Ban refused to refer to it as anything else, if nothing but to have the satisfaction of seeing Kazuki's unimpressed face every time he referred to it as such.

 _"I still don't understand why you insist on calling it that. Anyways, it's been two weeks since then and I thought it would be nice to have a girl's day and see how things have been with you and your new mate."_

"I'm up for it."

 _"Okay. I'll meet you at the Honky Tonk in half an hour and we can go to our usual spot. And yes, Ban, I'll buy you something to eat."_ Ban lifted his fist into the air in a half-cheer with an excited smile plastered to his face.

"You really are the best Kazuki."

 _"What are girlfriends for?"_ Kazuki hung up before he could hear Ban fall off his stool in laughter. He stayed on the floor, clutching his sides, until his laughs receded to chuckles. Once he had calmed down, he stood from the floor and made his way back up the stairs.

He put his phone back down on the counter before he went over and sat on the edge of the bed. This time he was prepared for Shido's grabbing arms and didn't make a sound of surprise as they settled around his waist.

"You said you'd be right back." Shido mumbled. His voice was slightly muffled since he had buried his face in the juncture between Ban's shoulder and neck. "What took you so long?"

"Kazuki called after I left the bathroom." Ban was thankful Shido didn't have the need to drag him back down onto the bed. "He asked me if I wanted to have a girl's day with him."

"Did he?"

"Yep. He told me he'll be here in about half an hour."

"Mmm." Shido lifted his head a bit and glanced towards Ginji's bed before lowering it back down. "Where's Ginji?"

"Went to the Jackal's." Ban couldn't help the slight growl in the back of his throat at the name. He shook his head and poked the top of Shido's. "Come on, sleepy head, you need to let me back up so I can get changed."

"Can't you stay in bed? It's too early to do anything." Shido mumbled back, but he did reluctantly pull away and let his arms fall.

Ban stood and turned back towards the bed. He placed his hands on the mattress and leaned forward to place a small peck on Shido's lips. "Go back to sleep. I should be back by the time you wake up."

"Okay." Shido yawned and laid back down, pulling Ban's pillow closer and hugging it close. Ban straightened and got ready to go.

He grabbed his keys, his phone and his wallet before walking back towards the door. He glanced back towards Shido and smiled before shutting the door behind him. Kazuki was already at the door to the café by the time Ban made it down. He let himself out, relocking the door behind him and turned towards Kazuki.

"Did you want to take the Ladybug today?"

"I would rather walk." Kazuki eyed the vehicle warily and Ban just snorted.

"Your loss." He pocketed his keys and sent an apologetic look towards his car. "Let's get going then!"

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Hey guys!

So, I'm thinking of having Ban and Shido completing their bond as the end of this story. ~ _Wink. Wink. ~_ I don't know how good I'll be at righting such a scene, but I'll do my best. If anybody has any tips or suggestions, I would love to hear them! :) Anyways, since that has been decided, there will now be more than just the two chapters I was planning on. Hooray! And I'll definitely have to up the rating for this story so won't get mad at me. :3

I posted chapter 18 along with this chapter. Chapter 19 will be up by tomorrow and depending on how far I get in it, there might be a chapter 20 posted by Monday and that one will definitely be the last one for this story.

Now reviews.

darkhuntressxir – I know, right? Ban's priorities, I tell you. :3

FlamFrame – No worries of that. I see your point. I hadn't realized when I posted it that chapter 16 ended in another cliffhanger. I hope you've been enjoying my story anyways. :D

That's it for now. I don't think I'll have an author's note for 18 since it was posted today as well, so I'll see you guys in 19!

TTFN

Taric


	18. Chapter 18

It just turned 10:20 by the time they made it to the coffee shop they tended to have all their girl talk days at. If they had taken the Ladybug, they would have been there in half the time. Ban made sure to say as much.

"Yes, but then we would have spent the ten minutes we 'saved' looking for a spot to park. Either way, it would have taken us 20 minutes to get here." Kazuki countered.

"I still say we should've taken my car." Ban mumbled back, crossing his arms.

Kazuki shook his head and lead the way into the shop. When he opened the door, a puff of strong coffee and freshly baked pastries assaulted their noses. Both took a deep breath and let smiles grace their faces as they made their way to the counter to order. When they got there, the barista behind the counter recognized them and instantly perked up.

"Hey you two! How've you been?"

"We're doing well, Kano. How are you?" Kazuki greeted, reaching into his jacket pocket to retrieve his wallet. Ban waved at her distractedly from his place in front of the pastry display.

"Can't complain. It's been pretty normal today." She shrugged then placed her chin in her hand, elbow leaning on the counter. "What can I get you guys today?"

"We'll have the usual, thank you."

"The usual, coming right up." Kano turned to the cash register and began ringing up their order. She paused and turned back to them, or more towards Ban who was still perusing the baked goods. "Anything else I can get you?"

"Can we also get one of the chocolate chip muffins?" Ban asked, looking more towards Kazuki with hopeful puppy eyes. Kazuki nodded and pulled the correct number of bills out of his wallet and handed it over.

"Alright. I'll have those right out for you." Kano turned and grabbed a pair of tongs to grab the ordered muffin, placing it on a paper plate and handing it over. "Here you go, Ban."

"Thanks Kano!" Ban took it and followed Kazuki over to their usual table under the front window. They settled into their seats and Ban broke the muffin in half, offering one to Kazuki who nodded in thanks.

"So, how have things been going with you and Shido?" Kazuki began, nibbling on a piece. Ban had taken a large bite and waited until he finished before he spoke.

"Pretty good. We've gone out on a couple of dates, spent a few nights watching movies over at Monica's, gone to the park to play with his animals once or twice-" Ban cut himself as Kano walked over with their tea.

"Here you guys go. One sweetened mixed berry iced tea for Kazuki and one warm, sweetened caramel apple tea for Ban. Enjoy." She placed the cups down, both men offering her their thanks, and walked back to the counter.

"So, yeah. We've been spending a lot of time together. Shido hasn't let me out of his sight since the Park Incident. It's kind of nice, you know?"

"Mmm." Kazuki took a sip of his tea. "Sounds like Juubei the first couple weeks we started dating."

"I bet. Though it is great to be able to have our girl talks again. I love the attention Shido's giving me, but it's nice to have a little time away from him." Ban took another bite of muffin before taking a sip of his own tea. "Did you know how much of a cuddler Shido is?"

"Oh?"

"Yeah. If we're sitting on the couch? He must have at least one arm wrapped around me, in some way, at all times. When we lay down to go to sleep? He wraps himself around me like a blanket or an octopus. And unless he wakes up first, I'm trapped against him until noon most days or until I poke him in the head enough to get him to release me. The guy's relentless." Ban finished, a fond smile on his face as he took another sip of tea.

"If he's that bad, I'm surprised you made it down to meet me on time."

"Heh. It was all the alarm clock. I may claim to hate the thing to the ends of the earth, but without it, I would still be in Monkey Boy's octopus grip." Ban finished off his half of the muffin and moved the plate closer to Kazuki. "Actually, when I woke up Shido wasn't latched onto me, so when the blasted thing started blaring, I got out of bed to turn it off. I didn't even take a step before Shido manhandled me back into bed. Somehow, even if he's dead to the world and I don't touch him at all, every time I make to get out of bed, he instantly wakes up. Why do you think that is?"

The thread user took another sip of tea to give himself a moment to think. "If I had to guess, I would say it has something to do with your bond with him."

"You think?"

"Yes. And speaking of your bond…"

"Hmm?"

Kazuki waited until Ban was taking another sip of his tea before he spoke. "When are you two going to complete your bond, and become mates?" he immediately leaned to the left to avoid the spray of tea leaving the Jagan user's mouth.

"W-What?" Ban coughed a bit, glaring at the triumphant/knowing look Kazuki got as he tried to hold in his laughter.

"Well, I assume you two haven't slept together."

"How would you know?" Ban grabbed a few napkins to try and clean up as much tea as he could. He felt at least a little accomplished when he noticed he had ruined what was left of the other man's muffin.

"I know you well enough by now, Ban, that if you had slept together, **you** would've been the one to call **me** for a girl's day, just so you could tell me all about it." Kazuki frowned at his muffin, but still folded his arms triumphantly.

"That's not-!" Ban paused and stared down at the table, blankly, for a moment. "You… you've got a point." He admitted a bit reluctantly.

"So…" Kazuki let his arms uncross and let them rest upon the, now drier, table. "Why haven't you?"

"I… I don't know." Ban slumped in his chair and began playing with his fingers.

"Do you want to?"

"Of course, I do!" Kazuki smirked as Ban gasped, a deep blush settling over his face. "It's just…" he went back to playing with his fingers.

"Just what?" the thread user lifted a brow.

"I don't know if Shido really wants to do something that intimate with me because he actually loves me like I love him or if it's just because we're mates." Ban mumbled out. He wasn't speaking very loud, but still tried to make himself loud enough for his friend to hear.

"Is that all?" Kazuki started laughing and Ban stared at him in shock, slightly hurt that he wasn't being taken seriously.

"What?"

"Ban, I've known Shido longer than I've known you. I can honestly tell you that I know he feels the same way you do. He's probably afraid of hurting you or something equally as foolish." Kazuki took one last sip of his tea before standing. He grabbed the plate of soiled muffin and his cup. "If you really want to know, go ask him. Give me a call tomorrow and we'll have another girl's day to talk all about it." He strode over and tossed his trash away. "Good-bye, Kona. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Kazuki." She responded with a wave.

Ban stared after his friend before standing and sprinting out of the coffee shop, throwing his own cup away as he passed the trashcan, and rushing down the street back towards the Honky Tonk. He's got a few questions for Shido.


	19. Chapter 19

Ban was completely out of breath by the time he got back to the Honky Tonk. He leaned against the door frame for a good 5 minutes to let his breathing calm down. When he was sure his heart wouldn't beat out of his chest, Ban turned and strolled through the now unlocked door of the café. By now, it was well past 10:30, and Paul was already sat at his seat behind the counter. Ban sent him a quick wave as he passed, he missed the wave he received in return. He quickly ascended the stairs and paused when he reached the door to the apartment.

Ban studied the wood of the door as he tried to get his thoughts under control. _What if Kazuki is wrong? I mean, Shido and I have gotten close over the past few weeks, but does that mean he'll want to?_ Ban perked up a bit when he heard shuffling behind the door.

"Ban? Is that you?" Shido's voice was muffled more from sleep than the door. More shuffling was heard before the knob began to turn.

"What are you standing out here for?" the Beast Master yawned once more, rubbing at one of his eyes like a small child.

Ban didn't answer. He let his eyes roam over his mate, from bottom to top. Shido's feet were bare, his toenails still painted a light pink from that night a couple of days ago, when Ban was testing just how deep of a sleeper the other really was. He was still wearing the loose fitting, grey sweats from the night before; the waistband resting snuggly around his hips. He hadn't put on a shirt yet, so his chest was bare for the world to see. Ban let his eyes trace each of the Beast Master's abs; letting them roam upwards to ogle his pecks a moment before his eyes continued their path. Shido's hair was down to outline his face and there is where Ban let his eyes rest.

"Ban? Is everything okay?" Shido was becoming increasingly unsettled. He jumped when Ban suddenly made eye contact with him, a determined look gracing his features.

Once again, he didn't answer. Ban sucked in a deep breath before taking the one step forward to be right in front of Shido. there was only an inch or so of space left between them.

Shido nearly jumped again when Ban finally spoke.

"Do you love me, Shido?"

"W-What?"

"Do you love me?"

"Of course," Shido relaxed the worried tension in his shoulders.

"Then say it." the tension came right back, only this time, it was from slight apprehension and uncertainty. Ban leaned back slightly and crossed his arms expectantly. "Say you love me."

Shido wasn't too sure whether Ban was testing him or not, but there was no doubt in his voice when he spoke those three simple words with a small smile on his face.

"I love you, Ban."

"That's all I needed to hear." Ban lightly pushed Shido back into the apartment to shut and lock the door behind them. Shido let out a shocked gasp as Ban spun them around and pushed the Beast Master into the door, pressing as close as he possibly could to his front.

"Ban, wha-" Ban wrapped his arms around the other's neck and silenced him with a sloppy kiss. Shido settled one hand on Ban's lower back and the other on the back of his head, drawing him even closer. He slipped his tongue between Ban's willing lips to let their kiss turn into a battle for dominance. As always, Shido won and let a satisfied growl rumble his chest as he explored the wet cavern for what seemed like the hundredth since they got together.

When they finally pulled apart for air, Ban quickly squirmed out of Shido's hold and pulled him towards the bed. The newly gained air left his lungs as he flopped down upon the mattress. A question was on his tongue as he sat up slightly, but Ban didn't give him the chance to ask it; he straddled the other's hips and reconnected their mouths in another heated kiss.

Ban started to growl deep in his throat as he started tracing the lines of Shido's chest with his fingers. A responding growl came from the body below him as hands reached up to grip onto the flesh of his ass. He could feel how excited Shido had gotten, if the hardness pressing into his thigh was any indication. Ban began to trail his hands lower, past his abs to trace the hem of his sweats, but hesitated to go any lower. He had never done anything this intimate with anyone else before and wasn't sure what he should do.

Shido tried to follow him when he leaned back, but Ban placed his hands on either shoulder to hold him at bay. They stared into each other's eyes as they panted for breath. Both had love firmly in place, but where Shido's held lust, hunger, and desire, Ban's were tinged with uncertainty. Shido tilted his head to the side a little.

"Ban, what's wrong?"

"I…You want to complete our bond, right?" Ban whispered. Shido nodded as he reached a hand up to grasp the wrist of one hand. He tugged the appendage towards his mouth to place gentle kisses across the backs of Ban's knuckles. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Ban. I'm positive that I would like nothing more than to complete the bond between us." He moved the hand higher to kiss at Ban's wrist, right above his pulse. "But we don't have to do anything more than make-out, if you don't want to."

"Is that why we haven't? Because you thought I didn't want to?"

Shido froze a moment, but eventually nodded. "I didn't want to push you. If you weren't ready to take this next step, I wasn't going to force you." He placed Ban's hand onto his chest, right above his heart, so he could rub circles across the back with his thumb. "I didn't want to scare you away because I couldn't stop myself from being a horny bastard."

Ban watched the hand on his own a moment before looking up at his mate. Shido was giving him a lopsided smile, but he was nothing but sincere. The Jagan User let out a soft laugh, snickering a moment as Shido lifted a brow at him.

"You, my dear Monkey Boy, are an idiot sometimes."

"Well, I'm your idiot." Shido leaned in to press his lips to Ban's chin.

"Hmm…So, what would you do if I were to tell you that I've been wanting to have sex with you for the past week?"

"I'd ask why you waited this long to say anything."

"Fair enough." Ban gained a mischievous look to his eyes, all the uncertainty gone. "Next question." He snuck his free hand downwards to once again tease the skin of Shido's stomach, right above his sweats. He leaned in closer and began nipping and licking at the corner of Shido's jaw, trying to distract his mate.

"Hmm?" the Beast Master leaned his head to the side and returned the favor to Ban's neck. Shido huffed out a groan as Ban licked a stripe up his neck to his ear. He bit down on it lightly before moving to let his lips brush the shell; his breath ghosting across the skin as he began to whisper.

"How will you react when I do this?"

Shido gasped, cutting off whatever he was going to say, as Ban's fingers slipped past the hem of his sweats to teasingly brush against the head of his erection.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

* _Peeking out from my hiding place._ *

H-Hey guys! Well, there you have it, Chapter 19.

I know I said I would have it up the day after I posted 17 and 18, but I had forgotten that the following week was finals, so they pretty much took up all my time for writing. I actually had this chapter finished on the 17th, but I haven't been able to get on the internet until now.

Also, I know you guys were probably expecting something a little more than a tease, but I've never written something anywhere remotely smutty before. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be and I'm gonna need much longer than I planned to write the scene out. So, I'll apologize now for however long it will take me to finish writing the last chapter because let's face it, it's going to take me a long time. I won't expect it to be perfect, but I hope it will be at least good and/or people won't mind reading it again.

If anyone has any tips or suggestions for me that might help me write a sex scene better, let me know 'cause I could use all the help I can get. :)

Now to reviews!

darkhuntressxir – **Chapter 17** : I'm glad you liked it! And I wouldn't have thought so either! :D **Chapter 18:** You and me both. And I hope you enjoy it next chapter. :3 I totally agree.

I'm kind of torn between being happy and sad that this story is almost over. I mean, yay no more writing, but sad-face that it's ending. But, anyways! I've got a couple of more stories in the works that will follow this story, so I'll still be able to hear form all of you lovely readers! :D Though, I might not post those for a time. I'd like to continue working on my other story, _A World Beyond Ours_ , but don't worry, I'll come back to this couple in no time!

That's about all for now, so I'll see you next chapter!

TTFN

Taric


	20. Chapter 20

Ban's fingers traced around the head before teasingly sliding downwards along the underside. He squeezed the base once before tracing his hand back up. His experience was, sadly, lacking, but Ban moved his fingers the way he knew he liked: twisting his wrist as he dragged his fingers up and squeezing as he dragged them down. His kept his pace slow and steady, his gaze never leaving the Beast Master's lap.

Shido was having a hard time deciding whether he should moan from the pleasurably slow torture or growl appreciatively at the attention. He released the hand on his chest to move his to the curves of Ban's hips, letting his thumbs rub the skin just under his mate's shirt. His head fell back into the pillows and his eyes clenched shut.

"Ugh, quite teasing…" he finally groaned out, his hips jerking forwards.

Ban glanced up with a relatively firm squeeze of his hand, smirking at the answering groan. "You know," he quickened his pace only slightly, "It's rather…hard…to move my hand when your sweats keep getting in the way." His smirk widened as Shido cracked an eye open to stare at him. An unmanly squeak left his throat as the hands on his hips lifted him up and tossed him to the other end of the bed.

Shido quickly stood and let his sweats fall to the ground, kicking them away without a care for where they ended up. Before Ban could sit up and admire the Beast Master in all his naked glory, Shido crawled back onto the bed and leaned over his mate, nudging his way between the other's long legs.

"Now who's having a **hard** time with clothes?" he pointedly looked down Ban's body, making the Jagan User gasp with a blush when Shido ground their lower halves together.

Ban had been hard just as long as his mate's, but it wasn't until just then that he realized how painful he was in the confines of his too-tight pants.

Shido's hips didn't stop moving as he leaned forward to kiss and nip the side of the smaller man's neck, right above his pulse-point. He kept one hand pressed firmly into the mattress beside Ban's head and traced the other along the clothed chest below him. He didn't bother with trying to undo the buttons and just ripped them off, letting Ban's over-shirt to fall open. He grabbed the hem of the underlying tank and lifted it as high up as he could.

"Geez! Warn me before you ruin my shirt, will ya?" Ban huffed, brushing a wayward button from his cheek.

"Mmm." Shido gave a final nip to his neck before scooting downwards. He gave a quick kiss to the skin of Ban's collarbone before licking the line between his pecks. Smirking at the hitch in breath, Shido licked his way over to one perk nipple. He teased a circle around the bud and didn't wrap his lips over it, rolling it around with his tongue, until Ban dug both of his hands into his hair and pulled.

"N-Now who's t-teasing?" he groaned before gasping as teeth gently pulled. Gasping again as his unattended nipple was pinched between two fingers. Shido moved to the other bud when he was satisfied with the wet state of the one he had.

His now unoccupied fingers ghosted their way downwards, a smirk forming around the bud in his mouth as Ban's stomach shuddered from the faint touch. He skillfully undid the button of Ban's jeans before pulling down the zipper and slipping his hand under the denim. He raised a brow as his hand touched skin instead of the fabric of Ban's boxers.

"Commando huh?" he released Ban's nipple and smirked up at him when he groaned, blush deepening further. The Jagan User glared down at him and groaned again before he could tell the other to shut up as a warm, calloused hand wrapped around his erection. Shido obviously had more experience as he quickly turned his mate into a writhing mess with each twist, squeeze, drag, and stroke of his fingers.

"H-How…mmm…How are you s-so…nng…good at that?" Ban panted out, his hands falling from his mate's hair and fisting in the sheets at his sides.

"I've been wanting you for two weeks. You wouldn't believe the kind of looks Monica's been sending me since she found out how much her water bill was." Shido shrugged back with a rather drawn out stroke of his hand.

Ban barely got out the beginnings of a chuckle in reply before the pace of Shido's hand increased to an almost unbearable speed. His head jerked backwards to fall over the edge of the bed. His hips twitched upwards a few times, his breath coming out in pants as he got closer and closer to his release. It snuck up on him too quickly and he didn't have enough time to warn Shido before his orgasm overcame him, arching his back up with a silent scream of pleasure.

Shido's hand kept pumping as he waited for Ban to come back down from his bliss-filled high. When his mate calmed a bit, he pulled his hand out his jeans, bringing his cum covered fingers towards his mouth to lick clean. Ban couldn't help his stare, his blush warming his cheeks even more.

"I don't suppose you have any lube anywhere, do you?" the Jagan User couldn't help it, his mind rushed through different ways lube could be used, and blushed harder, if at all possible at this point, when he finally came to the most obvious. It took him a moment to regain his composure, and get his heart back under control, before he tilted his head in thought, shaking it a second later when he realized he didn't.

"Hmm. Well, we'll think of something." Ban let out another squeak when Shido all but ripped his jeans from his legs, tossing them over his shoulder and once again not caring where they landed. His larger frame settled back over Ban's body as he brought two of his fingers to his mate's mouth, nudging his lower lip.

"Suck." Was all the reply Shido gave to his mate's confused stare.

Ban tentatively opened his mouth and brushed his tongue on the digits as they entered, rolling them around in his mouth to coat them with as much saliva as he could. He smirked at the strained groan rumbling through Shido's chest when he gave a particularly lewd suck.

"You're teasing again." Shido huffed out, removing his fingers.

"You make it too easy." Ban smirked up at him, reaching up to wrap his arms around his mate's neck. He eagerly welcomed the kiss he received, gasping into the other's mouth when he felt one of the slicked fingers prod at his entrance, not having noticed their decent.

Shido pulled back, concern flashing over his features, as Ban started shaking.

"Ban?"

"Y-Yes?"

"We don't have to do this if you're not ready…"

"No. I-I'm ready. I want this. Just no teasing, alright?" Ban smiled up at Shido, pulling lightly on the hair still firmly in his grasp. The Beast Master smirked back at him with a slight shake of his head.

"No promises." Ban let out a loud gasp when the first finger was pushed inside. The initial intrusion wasn't painful, but it wasn't exactly pleasurable either. It was just a weird filling sensation more than anything else.

Shido didn't move his hand for a moment, letting Ban get used to the feeling, before he slowly started to thrust the digit, pushing it in deeper and deeper. Ban buried his face into Shido's shoulder, making the Beast Master shiver with each gasped and panted breath against his sweaty skin. He could feel the tremble of his mate's legs and by the time he pressed that second finger into that tight heat, scissoring and stretching those velvety walls, he was straining to keep his instincts under control. Straining to stop himself from pounding into his mate for just a bit longer, until he could find…

"Sh-Shido!" Bingo. "Mmmm…Do that again." Ban gasped, throwing his head back as Shido's long fingers once again rubbed against that spot deep inside that sent pleasurable waves of heat coursing through his body. He pressed into that bundle of nerves a few more times, just barely on the verge of tipping the Jagan User into another release, but not quite, before pulling his fingers free. Ban let out a whine at the loss, pushing his hips downwards as if trying to find the digits again.

Shido let his chest rumble in apology as he brought his dry hand up to spit into his palm. He stroked his own leaking erection a few times, using the saliva the coat it as best he could before positioning himself at Ban's entrance. This time, as Shido pushed in, Ban let out a gasp that was filled with pain, his legs wrapping around his mate's waist and his hands tugging his dark locks hard.

"Nng! Oh, God! W-Why are y-you so big?!" Shido's chest rumbled once again in apology, but he couldn't help his strained, and slightly pained, chuckle.

"W-Why are you so tight?" he countered, then let out a quite sigh as he buried himself to the hilt. It took all of his willpower to stay still, muscles beyond tense from the effort. Shido started kissing and licking at Ban's neck, either to distract himself from the pleasure or his mate from the pain, he wasn't sure. After a minute or two, Ban began to shift and squirm, causing both of them to groan out in pleasure, before he pinched Shido's ear.

"Damn-it Monkey Boy, either start moving or sit back so I can." Ban growled out, clenching his muscles in warning as he pinched the ear in his fingers again.

"Yes sir." They each let out a moan as Shido slowly pulled out and quickly thrusted back in, immediately setting a relatively inhuman pace and letting his instincts fully take over.

Ban could do nothing but moan and gasp and chant Shido's name in an endless stream of pleasure, raking his fingers across the muscled torso above him and leaving scratch upon scratch along the expanse of flesh there. He screamed out as loud as his voice would allow when the Beast Master found that bundle of nerves once more and refused to stop hitting it with each thrust. It was long before Ban's release came crashing down upon him, making Shido grunt at the tightening of his muscles as he continued to thrust his hips.

As Shido's own orgasm began to creep up on him, he gave Ban's jaw one final lick before biting down hard at the juncture between neck and right shoulder as he thrusted his release into Ban's body. The Jagan User whimpered at the pain, but otherwise made no noise of protest. Shido fell, boneless, over his smaller mate's body as they both panted for breath. Neither spoke a word for a long while and Shido had thought Ban had fallen asleep until the younger began giggling uncontrollably.

"What?" Shido raised himself onto his elbows to stare at his mate.

"I just know Paul's going to complain about the noise." He eventually answered, his giggles turning into a full-blown laugh as Shido began to chuckle with him, flopping back down and hiding his face in Ban's non-bitten shoulder. He growled contentedly as fingers began to sooth the soreness from his scalp.

"Hey, Shido?"

"Mmm?"

"Why'd you have to bite me?"

"The bond wouldn't've been complete if I didn't." Shido lifted his head only enough to switch shoulders so he could lick the bite mark, soothing the enflamed flesh and cleaning what little blood had fallen from the wound.

"Hmm…Shido?"

"Yes?"

"Do I have to bite you?"

"Not unless you want to."

"Hmm…Okay then." Ban lifted Shido's head away from his shoulder, ignoring the questioning look he received to lean his own down towards his mate's right shoulder. He gave a deceptive lick to the skin at the juncture of his neck before biting down hard. Shido gasped and jerked his torso away after Ban's teeth released his skin, bringing a hand up to rub the abused and slightly bleeding flesh as he stared disbelievingly down at his mate.

"Why'd you bite me?" he grumbled. Ban crossed his arms over his chest and smiled up at him proudly.

"Because I wanted to."

* * *

 ** _THE END_**

* * *

 **Author's Note**

I couldn't stop blushing the entire time I wrote this, and I had to rewrite nearly seven times before I got to a point I felt it was good enough to post and yet I still feel like the scene came out wrong. Oh, well. That's probably just me inner editor saying it's bad when it really isn't. Either way, let me know what you guys think!

I was right, I'm sad this story has come to an end, but all good stories must, right? Is it just me, or does it seem kind of fitting that the last chapter is also the longest chapter? :)

Like I said last chapter, I've got more stories in the works for this pairing, so be sure to look for 'em in the future.

Now reviews:

darkhuntressxir – I'm glad you liked it. ;) If people do think you're weird then they better think I am too, 'cause I was blushing way before the teasing. :3

I would like to thank all of my readers that have been so patient with me as I wrote and updated this story and a special thanks to ASmileWithSecrets and darkhuntressxir for always have a review and kind words for each chapter. I love you guys! 3

That's about it, I suppose, so until next story!

TTFN

Taric


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